Journal article

Publication year: 2006

Pages: 337-343

Journal: European Journal of Soil Science

Volume number: 57

Issue number: 3

ISSN: 1351-0754

eISSN: 1365-2389

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.2005.00742.x

Publisher: Wiley

Abstract: 
The objective of this study was to separate the observed nitrite (NO2-) concentration in a permanent grassland soil into process-specific subpools. A laboratory experiment was carried out where either the nitrate and/or ammonium pool was labelled with N-15 at 60 atom % excess. The main N transformations that occurred in this experiment were analysed with a N-15 tracing model extended with a NO2- submodel. Techniques that have been used to date have been only able to identify NO2- subpools related to nitrification (NO2nit-) and denitrification (NO2den-). With the analysis presented here, we were able to quantify the size of an additional NO2- pool in the soil related to organic N turnover (NO2org-). All transformations related to NO2- turnover of the three subpools occurred simultaneously. After non-linear parameter optimization the model predicted that on average NO2den-, NO2nit- and NO2org- pools contributed 57, 33 and 10% to the total soil NO2- concentration. The finding that heterotrophic processes can contribute to the NO2- dynamics in permanent grassland soils might also have important implications for the understanding of gaseous N production that are tightly linked to NO2- turnover. Further work is needed to find out how important the conversion of organic N to NO2- is in other soil-based ecosystems and to identify the microbial groups responsible for this process.

Harvard Citation style: Müller, C., Stevens, R. and Laughlin, R. (2006) Sources of nitrite in a permanent grassland soil, European Journal of Soil Science, 57(3), pp. 337-343. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.2005.00742.x

APA Citation style: Müller, C., Stevens, R., & Laughlin, R. (2006). Sources of nitrite in a permanent grassland soil. European Journal of Soil Science. 57(3), 337-343. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.2005.00742.x