Scientia Agricultura Sinica ›› 2013, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (22): 4726-4732.doi: 10.3864/j.issn.0578-1752.2013.22.010

• SOIL & FERTILIZER·WATER-SAVING IRRIGATION·AGROECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Contribution of Nitrification and Denitrification to the Nitrous Oxide Emission from Forest and Grassland Soils

 LI  Ping-1, LANG  Man-2   

  1. 1.Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology/Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Agricultural Meteorology, Nanjing 210044;
    2.College of Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044
  • Received:2013-04-23 Online:2013-11-15 Published:2013-07-23

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Abstract: 【Objective】It is of great significance to explore the contribution of nitrification and denitrification to the N2O emission from forest and grassland soils under aerobic condition, and to compare the response of the contribution to temperature change.【Method】An laboratory aerobic (60% water holding capacity) incubation experiment was conducted at 10℃ and 15℃ to measure the atom 15N excess of ammonium, nitrate, and nitrous oxide using 15N isotope tracers, the contribution of nitrification and denitrification to the N2O emission was calculated. 【Result】 Under aerobic condition, both processes occurred simultaneously and were involved in N2O production, 53.1%–72.0% of N-N2O came from nitrification, which is the main source of N2O from soils. The average contribution of denitrification to N2O emission was 44.9% for forest soil, which is significantly higher than grassland soil (28.9%), while nitrification of forest soil contributed 55.1% to N2O emission, which is significantly lower than grassland soil (71.1%). Increasing temperature from 10℃ to 15℃ increased N2O emission significantly for both two soils, but had no effects on the relative contribution of nitrification and denitrification to N2O emissions.【Conclusion】 Microbial transformation of nitrification is the main source of N2O from soils under aerobic condition, however, the proportion of N2O emitted from denitrification should not be neglected.

Key words: nitrification , denitrification , N2O , 15N , forest , grassland

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