ABSTRACT The montane grassland soils of Europe store significant amounts of nitrogen (N), and cli... more ABSTRACT The montane grassland soils of Europe store significant amounts of nitrogen (N), and climate change might drive their volatilization due to the stimulation of gaseous nitrous oxide (N2O) and dinitrogen (N2) losses. Hence, a thorough, mechanistic understanding of the processes responsible for N loss and retention such as denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) in these soils is urgently needed. Here we aimed to explore the relationships between denitrifier gene abundance and expression with N2 and N2O production and the importance of DNRA versus denitrification in nitrate consumption and N2O production for typical montane grassland soils of Southern Germany. In a laboratory incubation experiment with glucose and nitrate addition, we combined direct measurements of N2O and N2 production with a molecular analysis of the denitrifier communities involved in nitrite, nitric oxide (NO) and N2O reduction and with the quantification of DNRA. The soils originated from a space-for-time climate change experiment, where intact plant-soil mesocosms were exposed for three years either to ambient conditions at a high elevation site (“HE” control treatment) or to predicted climate change conditions (warming, reduced summer precipitation and reduced winter snow cover) by translocation to lower elevation (“LE” climate change treatment).
The carbon and nitrogen rich soils of montane grasslands are exposed to above average warming and... more The carbon and nitrogen rich soils of montane grasslands are exposed to above average warming and to altered precipitation patterns as a result of global change. In order to investigate the consequences of climatic change for soil nitrogen turnover, we translocated intact plant-soil mesocosms along an elevational gradient, resulting in an increase of the mean annual temperature by approx. 2°C while decreasing precipitation from approx. 1500 to 1000 mm. Following three years of equilibration, we monitored the dynamics of gross nitrogen turnover and ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) in soils over an entire year. Gross nitrogen turnover and gene levels of AOB and AOA showed pronounced seasonal dynamics. Both summer and winter periods equally contributed to cumulative annual N turnover. However, highest gross N turnover and abundance of ammonia oxidizers were observed in frozen soil of the climate change site, likely due to physical liberation of organic substrates and ...
ABSTRACT The montane grassland soils of Europe store significant amounts of nitrogen (N), and cli... more ABSTRACT The montane grassland soils of Europe store significant amounts of nitrogen (N), and climate change might drive their volatilization due to the stimulation of gaseous nitrous oxide (N2O) and dinitrogen (N2) losses. Hence, a thorough, mechanistic understanding of the processes responsible for N loss and retention such as denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) in these soils is urgently needed. Here we aimed to explore the relationships between denitrifier gene abundance and expression with N2 and N2O production and the importance of DNRA versus denitrification in nitrate consumption and N2O production for typical montane grassland soils of Southern Germany. In a laboratory incubation experiment with glucose and nitrate addition, we combined direct measurements of N2O and N2 production with a molecular analysis of the denitrifier communities involved in nitrite, nitric oxide (NO) and N2O reduction and with the quantification of DNRA. The soils originated from a space-for-time climate change experiment, where intact plant-soil mesocosms were exposed for three years either to ambient conditions at a high elevation site (“HE” control treatment) or to predicted climate change conditions (warming, reduced summer precipitation and reduced winter snow cover) by translocation to lower elevation (“LE” climate change treatment).
The carbon and nitrogen rich soils of montane grasslands are exposed to above average warming and... more The carbon and nitrogen rich soils of montane grasslands are exposed to above average warming and to altered precipitation patterns as a result of global change. In order to investigate the consequences of climatic change for soil nitrogen turnover, we translocated intact plant-soil mesocosms along an elevational gradient, resulting in an increase of the mean annual temperature by approx. 2°C while decreasing precipitation from approx. 1500 to 1000 mm. Following three years of equilibration, we monitored the dynamics of gross nitrogen turnover and ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) in soils over an entire year. Gross nitrogen turnover and gene levels of AOB and AOA showed pronounced seasonal dynamics. Both summer and winter periods equally contributed to cumulative annual N turnover. However, highest gross N turnover and abundance of ammonia oxidizers were observed in frozen soil of the climate change site, likely due to physical liberation of organic substrates and ...
Uploads