Functional structures of soil microbial community relate to contrasting N2O emission patterns from a highly acidified forest

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important greenhouse gas contributing to global climate change. Emissions of N2O from acidic forests are increasing rapidly; however, little is known about the mechanisms driving these emissions. We analyzed soil samples from a high N2O emission area (HEA, 224-601 mu g N m(-2) h(-1)) and an adjacent low emission area (LEA, 20-30 mu g N m(-2) h(-1)) of a highly acidified forest. HEA showed similar carbon and nitrogen (N) pools and microbial biomass to LEA, but significantly higher moisture and extractable nutrients than LEA did. GeoChip 4 detected 298 gene families (unadjusted P < 0.05; 94, adjusted P < 0.05) showing significantly different structures between HEA and LEA. Both areas had highly diverse N cycling functional genes. However, HEA had higher relative abundances of nor, P450nor, and archaeal nitrifier nirK, which provided evidence for the importance of denitrifiers in N2O emission. HEA also showed significantly higher relative abundances of lignin- and cellulose-degrading genes, oxygen-limitation-response genes and denitrifier ppk, but lower abundances of N- and phosphorus (P)-limitation-response genes especially denitrifier pstS, corresponding to the higher moisture and extractable nutrients conducive to denitrification. The moisture, extractable nutrients and pH explained over 50% variation in microbial communities, and extractable P appeared as the key factor driving community variation and consequently regulated N2O production. Capsule abstract: N2O emission in highly acidified forest soils was related to the diverse N functional genes, especially denitrification genes, and was affected by soil properties. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.