ABSTRACT Climate change is altering precipitation regimes that control nitrogen (N) cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. In ecosystems exposed to frequent drought, N can accumulate in soils as they dry, stimulating the emission of both nitric oxide (NO; an air pollutant at high concentrations) and nitrous oxide (N2O; a powerful greenhouse gas) when the dry soils wet up. Because changes in both N availability and soil moisture can alter the capacity of nitrifying organisms such as ammonia‐oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) to process N and emit N gases, predicting whether shifts in precipitation may alter NO and N2O emissions requires understanding how both AOA and AOB may respond. Thus, we ask: How does altering summer and winter precipitation affect nitrifier‐derived N trace gas emissions in a dryland ecosystem? To answer this question, we manipulated summer and winter precipitation and measured AOA‐ and AOB‐derived N trace gas emissions, AOA and AOB abundance, and soil N concentrations. We found that excluding summer precipitation increased AOB‐derived NO emissions, consistent with the increase in soil N availability, and that increasing summer precipitation amount promoted AOB activity. Excluding precipitation in the winter (the most extreme water limitation we imposed) did not alter nitrifier‐derived NO emissions despite N accumulating in soils. Instead, nitrate that accumulated under drought correlated with high N2O emission via denitrification upon wetting dry soils. Increases in the timing and intensity of precipitation that are forecasted under climate change may, therefore, influence the emission of N gases according to the magnitude and season during which the changes occur.
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Impacts of Climate Change and Agricultural Practices on Nitrogen Processes, Genes, and Soil Nitrous Oxide Emissions: A Quantitative Review of Meta-Analyses
Microbial-driven processes, including nitrification and denitrification closely related to soil nitrous oxide (N2O) production, are orchestrated by a network of enzymes and genes such as amoA genes from ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA), narG (nitrate reductase), nirS and nirK (nitrite reductase), and nosZ (N2O reductase). However, how climatic factors and agricultural practices could influence these genes and processes and, consequently, soil N2O emissions remain unclear. In this comprehensive review, we quantitatively assessed the effects of these factors on nitrogen processes and soil N2O emissions using mega-analysis (i.e., meta-meta-analysis). The results showed that global warming increased soil nitrification and denitrification rates, leading to an overall increase in soil N2O emissions by 159.7%. Elevated CO2 stimulated both nirK and nirS with a substantial increase in soil N2O emission by 40.6%. Nitrogen fertilization amplified NH4+-N and NO3−-N contents, promoting AOB, nirS, and nirK, and caused a 153.2% increase in soil N2O emission. The application of biochar enhanced AOA, nirS, and nosZ, ultimately reducing soil N2O emission by 15.8%. Exposure to microplastics mostly stimulated the denitrification process and increased soil N2O emissions by 140.4%. These findings provide valuable insights into the mechanistic underpinnings of nitrogen processes and the microbial regulation of soil N2O emissions.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2000058
- PAR ID:
- 10502797
- Publisher / Repository:
- MDPI
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Agriculture
- Volume:
- 14
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 2077-0472
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 240
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- denitrification global warming greenhouse gas emission mega-analysis nitrogen fertilizer N2O precipitation
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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