Summary
The effect of soil water content [60%–100% water-holding capacity (WHC)] on N2O production during autotrophic nitrification and denitrification in a loam soil was studied in a laboratory experiment by selectively inhibiting nitrification with a low C2H2 concentration (2.1 Pa). Nitrifiers usually produced more N2O than denitrifiers. During an initial experimental period of 0–6 days the nitrifiers produced more N2O than the denitrifiers by a factor ranging from 1.4 to 16.5, depending on the water content and length of incubation. The highest N2O production rate by nitrifiers was observed at 90% WHC, when the soil had become partly anaerobic, as indicated by the high denitrification rate. At 100% WHC there were large gaseous losses from denitrification, while nitrification losses were smaller except for the first period of measurement, when there was still some O2 remaining in the soil. The use of 10 kPa C2H2 to inhibit reduction of N2O to N2 stimulated the denitrification process during prolonged incubation over several days; thus the method is unsuitable for long-term studies.
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Klemedtsson, L., Svensson, B.H. & Rosswall, T. Relationships between soil moisture content and nitrous oxide production during nitrification and denitrification. Biol Fert Soils 6, 106–111 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00257658
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00257658