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Title: Beyond denitrification: The role of microbial diversity in controlling nitrous oxide reduction and soil nitrous oxide emissions
Award ID(s):
1831582 1831842 1831599
NSF-PAR ID:
10276532
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Global Change Biology
Volume:
27
Issue:
12
ISSN:
1354-1013
Page Range / eLocation ID:
2669 to 2683
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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  1. Abstract

    Wildfires may increase soil emissions of trace nitrogen (N) gases like nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide (N2O) by changing soil physicochemical conditions and altering microbial processes like nitrification and denitrification. When 34 studies were synthesized, we found a significant increase in both NO and N2O emissions up to 1 year post-fire across studies spanning ecosystems globally. However, when fluxes were separated by ecosystem type, we found that individual ecosystem types responded uniquely to fire. Forest soils tended to emit more N2O after fire, but there was no significant effect on NO. Shrubland soils showed significant increases in both NO and N2O emissions after fires; often with extremely large but short-lived NO pulses occurring immediately after fire. Grassland NO emissions increased after fire, but the size of this effect was small relative to shrublands. N2O emissions from burned grasslands were highly variable with no significant effect. To better understand the variation in responses to fire across global ecosystems, more consistent measurements of variables recognized as important controls on soil fluxes of NO and N2O (e.g., N cycling rates, soil water content, pH, and substrate availability) are needed across studies. We also suggest that fire-specific elements like burn severity, microbial community succession, and the presence of char be considered by future studies. Our synthesis suggests that fires can exacerbate ecosystem N loss long after they burn, increasing soil emissions of NO and N2O with implications for ecosystem N loss, climate, and regional air quality as wildfires increase globally.

     
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    Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) is a potent greenhouse gas and an ozone destroying substance. Yet, clear step-by-step protocols to measure N 2 O transformation rates in freshwater and marine environments are still lacking, challenging inter-comparability efforts. Here we present detailed protocols currently used by leading experts in the field to measure water-column N 2 O production and consumption rates in both marine and other aquatic environments. We present example 15 N-tracer incubation experiments in marine environments as well as templates to calculate both N 2 O production and consumption rates. We discuss important considerations and recommendations regarding (1) precautions to prevent oxygen (O 2 ) contamination during low-oxygen and anoxic incubations, (2) preferred bottles and stoppers, (3) procedures for 15 N-tracer addition, and (4) the choice of a fixative. We finally discuss data reporting and archiving. We expect these protocols will make 15 N-labeled N 2 O transformation rate measurements more accessible to the wider community and facilitate future inter-comparison between different laboratories. 
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