Lithology-driven soil properties control of N2O production by ammonia oxidizers in subtropical forest soils
Xiangyu Wan,
Xinyi Yang,
Yuling Zhang,
Peilei Hu,
Pengpeng Duan,
Dejun Li,
Kelin Wang
Affiliations
Xiangyu Wan
Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China; College of Land and Environment, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China
Xinyi Yang
Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China; College of Land and Environment, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China
Yuling Zhang
College of Land and Environment, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China
Peilei Hu
Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China; Huanjiang Agriculture Ecosystem Observation and Research Station of Guangxi, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Karst Ecological Processes and Services, Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang 547100, Guangxi, China
Pengpeng Duan
Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China; Huanjiang Agriculture Ecosystem Observation and Research Station of Guangxi, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Karst Ecological Processes and Services, Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang 547100, Guangxi, China; Corresponding author at: Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China.
Dejun Li
Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China; Huanjiang Agriculture Ecosystem Observation and Research Station of Guangxi, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Karst Ecological Processes and Services, Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang 547100, Guangxi, China
Kelin Wang
Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China; Huanjiang Agriculture Ecosystem Observation and Research Station of Guangxi, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Karst Ecological Processes and Services, Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang 547100, Guangxi, China
Lithology can strongly influence soil's physical and chemical properties, significantly affecting soil nitrogen (N) transformation rates. Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox Nitrospira) constitute the major producers of soil nitrous oxide (N2O), but the importance of different lithology on their relative contributions still poorly understood, especially in terms of newly discovered and widespread comammox. To address this knowledge gap, three nitrification inhibitors, acetylene (ammonia oxidizers inhibitor), 1-octyne (AOB inhibitor) and 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) (both AOB and comammox inhibitor), were used to selectively inhibit the activity of different ammonia oxidation groups in order to discriminate their respective roles in N2O production in forest soils developed on different lithologies (limestone and clastic rock). The results showed that AOB dominated N2O production (63.5 ± 3.3 %) in limestone soils with ammonium amendment, followed by AOA (34.5 ± 7.6 %), while comammox contributed 1 % of total N2O production with N2O yield of 0.03 ± 0.04 %. Higher N2O production by AOB in limestone soils is associated with higher soil pH, exchangeable calcium/magnesium and lower short-range order iron/aluminum minerals. However, the N2O yield by comammox (0.12 ± 0.12 %) in clastic rock soils was comparable to that by AOA (0.15 ± 0.14 %) and AOB (0.20 ± 0.13 %). Based on the results of the correlation analysis, comammox in the clastic rock soils produce greater amounts of N2O is closely related to the higher soil organic carbon and available phosphorus. The present study provided evidence that the lithology-driven soil properties markedly affect the N2O production from different ammonia oxidizers.
