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Carbon limitations to nitrous oxide emissions in a humid tropical forest of the Brazilian Amazon

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Abstract

The availability of labile organic C for microbial metabolic processes could be an important factor regulating N2O emissions from tropical soils. We explored the effects of labile C on the emissions of N2O from a forest soil in the State of Rondônia in the southwestern quadrant of the Brazilian Amazon. We measured emissions of N2O from a forest soil after amendments with solutions containing glucose, water only or NO3 . Addition of glucose to the forest soil resulted in very large increases in N2O emissions whereas the water only and NO3 additions did not. These results suggest a strong C limitation on N2O production in this forest soil in the southwestern Amazon.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the NASA Terrestrial Ecology Program grant NAG5-3859 as part of the LBA research program. We thank Janaina Braga do Campo and Toby Ahrens for their assistance. We also like to thank to João Arantes Jr and his family who generously allowed us to work on their land.

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Correspondence to D. C. Garcia-Montiel.

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Garcia-Montiel, D.C., Melillo, J.M., Steudler, P.A. et al. Carbon limitations to nitrous oxide emissions in a humid tropical forest of the Brazilian Amazon. Biol Fertil Soils 38, 267–272 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-003-0637-y

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