N2O Emission and Nitrification/Denitrification Bacterial Communities in Upland Black Soil under Combined Effects of Early and Immediate Moisture

Soil moisture is the major factor influencing microbial properties and nitrous oxide (N2O) production. Agricultural soils can be probed under wetting, wet/dry alternating, and constant moisture conditions to evaluate the combined effects of early (previous) and immediate (current) moisture on N2O emission and nitrification/denitrification. In view of the water history of upland black soil, five moisture regimes comprising different antecedent and present water holding capacity (WHC) levels were set up in the microcosm study. The 20% WHC was adopted as the initial legacy moisture, while three immediate water statuses include constant WHC, dry-wet cycle, and incremental moisture. Quantitative PCR and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing were used to assess the impact of current and previous moisture on the bacterial community composition and abundance of nitrification/denitrification genes (amoA, nirS, and nosZ); the soil physicochemical properties, and N2O emission were monitored. The N2O production and nitrifying-denitrifying microbial communities were influenced by the antecedent moisture and pattern of the dry-wet cycle. The nitrifying-denitrifying microbial communities, especially members of beta-/gamma-Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Gemmatimonadetes, in black soil were important in explaining the variation of N2O production. The key taxonomic groups in response to the moisture alteration, e.g., Acidobacteria, Sphingobacteriia, Deltaproteobacteria, Methylobacterium, Gemmatimonas and Pseudarthrobacter, etc., were also highlighted. The soil nitrate, ammonium nitrogen, N2O emission, nitrification/denitrification and mineralization were profoundly impacted by water regimes and showed statistically significant correlation with specific bacterial genera; the nitrite/nitrate reduction to ammonium could be boosted by high moisture. Both nitrifier denitrification and heterotrophic denitrification could be enhanced substantially when the black soil moisture was increased to above 60% WHC. These findings help evaluate the effects of the water mode on the N2O emission from black soil, as well as the associated impacts on both soil fertility and the global environment.

Automated summary

Soil moisture plays a crucial role in microbial properties and N2O production. This study investigated the effects of previous and current moisture on N2O emission and nitrification/denitrification in agricultural soils. The results showed that the bacterial community composition and abundance of nitrification/denitrification genes were influenced by the antecedent moisture and dry-wet cycle. Specific bacterial genera were found to be correlated with soil physicochemical properties and N2O emission. High moisture levels were found to enhance both nitrifier denitrification and heterotrophic denitrification. These findings provide important insights into the impact of water regimes on N2O emission, soil fertility, and the global environment.