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Pathways for Nitrous Oxide Generation in Forested and Agricultural Zones Growing on Volcanic Ash Soils

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Abstract

We studied the in situ relative contribution of soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from already discovered pathways, namely the nitrification, nitrifier denitrification (ND), and heterotrophic denitrification (HD). We selected a transect from upland pastures to lowland riparian forests growing on volcanic ash soils. We used the acetylene blocking technique, and N2O was measured by gas chromatography. We also measured rates of potential organic matter mineralization and potential nitrification in laboratory. Potential mineralization increased from uplands to lowlands, while potential nitrification decreased in the same transect. In riparian forests, N2O emissions under acetylene blocking were higher than without acetylene, revealing that 22–31% of nitrogen emissions consisted of dinitrogen. Conversely, in pastures, N2O emissions under acetylene blocking were lower than without acetylene. Our results suggest that HD predominates in waterlogged, anoxic, and acidic soils with no nitrification, which are typical conditions for riparian soils. Conversely, N2O from nitrification and ND predominates in more oxic environments that are less water-saturated, have less acidic soils, and a larger nitrification rate than riparian areas (i.e., typical conditions for pasture soils). Thus, processes related to the nitrogen cycle depend on the land cover/use and soil physical-chemical properties, even in vegetation zones growing on adjacent soil types. Our results imply that different mitigation measures must be implemented to abate N2O emissions in different soil environments.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Santa Rosa Experimental Station staff for their help, especially the administrators Rodrigo Barriga and Carlos Villagra. Mr. César Leiva, César Lemus, Jaime Vargas, and Miss Jenny Huertas provided logistical support. The Garden Unit of the Universidad Austral also contributed by maintaining the grass. JGC would also like to acknowledge Dr. Pedro Hervé for some interesting discussions held during their stay in Bayreuth, Germany. Dr. Enrique Ostria is acknowledged for some help in the technical design of this paper, and Prof. Susana Valle for conceptual advice. Finally, we appreciate the constructive comments from three reviewers, which helped to improve this paper. The revision of English was funded by Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad, grant AFB170008.

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Fondecyt grant 1110156.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), Av. Raúl Bitrán, 1305, La Serena, Chile

    Jaime G. Cuevas

  2. Centro de Investigación en Suelos Volcánicos (CISVo), Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

    Jaime G. Cuevas, Leandro Paulino & José Dörner

  3. Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Santiago, Chile

    Jaime G. Cuevas

  4. Departamento de Suelos y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla, 537, Chillán, Chile

    Leandro Paulino

  5. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Alimentarias, Instituto de Ingeniería Agraria y Suelos, Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla, 567, Valdivia, Chile

    José Dörner

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  1. Jaime G. Cuevas
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Correspondence to Jaime G. Cuevas.

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Cuevas, J.G., Paulino, L. & Dörner, J. Pathways for Nitrous Oxide Generation in Forested and Agricultural Zones Growing on Volcanic Ash Soils. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr 20, 1859–1871 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-020-00257-3

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