Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

δ15N–N2O signatures in response to N fertilization in a wheat–maize rotation

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The responses of δ15N–N2O isotopic signatures to nitrogen (N) fertilization in in situ soils are not yet clear in agricultural field settings. We therefore conducted a 1-year field experiment to assess how N fertilization (0 and 400 kg N ha−1 year−1, N0 and N400) affects the δ15N–N2O isotopic signatures both at soil surface and in soil profile (0–3 m) in a wheat–maize rotation in North China. N fertilization increased N2O concentrations by 18–79% in the soil profile. It increased N2O fluxes by 9 times and 1–7 times at the soil surface and 0–0.9 m soil depth, respectively. In comparison, N fertilization reduced δ15N–N2O values by 10–74% in the soil profile. It reduced δ15N–N2O isotopic signatures at the soil surface and in the soil profile by 18% and 33%, respectively. The δ15N–N2O isotopic signature was dominated by substrate δ15N signature and N isotope fractionation during cold and warm seasons, respectively. Our results indicate that denitrification steps of NO3− → N2O dominated N2O production (over 99%) in the N0 treatment and the N400 treatment during N-fertilizer-free period. Following N fertilization, the NO3− → N2O dominated N2O production (over 99%) in the soil profile, N2O flux from the soil surface was mostly derived from NO3− → N2O and less from NH4+ → N2O. Overall, denitrification was found to dominate soil N2O transformation metabolism in the wheat–maize rotation cropland in North China.

Graphic abstract

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Barford CC, Montoya JP, Altabet MA, Mitchell R (1999) Steady state nitrogen isotope effect of N2 and N2O production in Paracoccus denitrificans. Appl Environ Microbiol 65(3):989–994

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Barrat HA, Evans J, Chadwick DR, Clark IM, Cocq KL, Cardenas LM (2020) The impact of drought and rewetting on N2O emissions from soil in temperate and Mediterranean climates. Eur J Soil Sci. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.13015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bateman AS, Kelly SD (2007) Fertilizer nitrogen isotope signatures. Isotopes Environ Health Stud 43:237–247

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Birch HF (1964) Mineralization of plant nitrogen following alternate wet and dry conditions. Plant Soil 20:43–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourbonnais A, Letscher RT, Bange HW, Échevin V, Larkum J, Mohn J, Yoshida N, Altabet MA (2017) N2O production and consumption from stable isotopic and concentration data in the Peruvian coastal upwelling system, Global Biogeochem. Cycles 31:678–698

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bouyoucos GJ (1936) Directions for making mechanical analysis of soils by the hydrometer method. Soil Sci 42(3):225–228

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brasher BR, Franzmeier DP, Valassis VT, Davidson SE (1966) Use of saran resin to coat natural soil clods for bulk density and water-retention measurements. Soil Sci 101:108

    Google Scholar 

  • Casciotti KL, Sigman DM, Hastings MG, Bohlke JK, Hilkert A (2002) Measurement of the oxygen isotopic composition of nitrate in seawater and freshwater using the denitrifier method. Anal Chem 74:4905–4912

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Casciotti KL, Sigman DM, Ward BB (2003) Linking diversity and stable isotope fractionation in ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. Geomicrobiol J 20:335–353

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Castellano-Hinojosa A, Charteris AF, Christoph Müller C, Jansen-Willems A, González-López J, Bedmar EJ, Carrillo P, Cárdenas LM (2020) Occurrence and 15N-quantification of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in N-fertilised soils incubated under oxygen-limiting conditions. Soil Biol Biochem 143:107757

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Castellano-Hinojosa A, González-López J, Bedmar EJ (2018) Distinct effect of nitrogen fertilisation and soil depth on nitrous oxide emissions and nitrifiers and denitrifiers abundance. Biol Fertil Soils 54:829–840

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Coplen TB (2011) Guidelines and recommended terms for expression of stableisotope- ratio and gas-ratio measurement results. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 25:2538–2560

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Denk TRA, Mohn J, Decock C, Lewicka-Szczebak D, Harris E, Butterbach-Bahl K, Kiese R, Wolf B (2017) The nitrogen cycle: A review of isotope effects and isotope modeling approaches. Soil Biol Biochem 105:121–137

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • FAO-WRB (SSS-ISRIC-FAO-UNESCO) (1998) World reference base for soil resources, World Soil Resources Report No. 84. FAO, Rome

  • Guo XB, Drury CF, Yang XM, Reynolds WD, Fan RQ (2014) The extent of soil drying and rewetting affects nitrous oxide emissions, denitrification, and nitrogen mineralization. Soil Sci Soc Am J 78:194–204

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu HW, Chen D, He JZ (2015) Microbial regulation of terrestrial nitrous oxide formation: understanding the biological pathways for prediction of emission rates. FEMS Microbiol Rev 39:729–749

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson GL, Livingston GP (1993) Use of chamber systems to measure trace gas fluxes. In: Harper LA, Moiser AR, Duxbury JM, Rolston DE (eds) Agro-ecosytem effecton radiatively important trace gases and climate change, vol 55. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, pp 63–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Kevin W, Mandernack I, Thomas R (2000) The biogeochemicaclo ntrolso f the δ15N and δ18O of N2O produced in landfill cover soils. J Geophys Res 105(14):17709–17702

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewicka-Szczebak D, Well R, Bol R, Gregory AS, Matthews GP, Misselbrook T, Whalley WR, Cardenas LM (2015) Isotope fractionation factors controlling isotopocule signatures of soil-emitted N2O produced by denitrification processes of various rates. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 29:269–282

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lewicka-Szczebak D, Well R, Koester JR, Fuss R, Senbayram M, Dittert K, Flessa H (2014) Experimental determinations of isotopic fractionation factors associated with N2O production and reduction during denitrification in soils. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 134:55–73

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Makabe A, Koba K, Toyoda S, Yoshida N (2007) Isotopomeric signature of nitrous oxide discharged from Lake Biwa in Japan and a polluted river in Mongolia. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting. abstract id: B41G-03

  • Mandernack KW, Mills CT, Johnson CA, Rahn T, Kinney C (2009) The δ15N and δ18O values of N2O produced during the co-oxidation of ammonia by methanotrophic bacteria. Chem Geol 267:96–107

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Martínez-Espinosa C, Sauvage S, Bitar AA, Green PA, Vörösmarty CJ, Sánchez-Pérez JM (2021) Denitrification in wetlands: a review towards a quantification at global scale. Sci Total Environ 754:142398

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Menyailo OV, Hungate BA, Lehmann J, Gebauer G, Zech W (2003) Tree species of the central amazon and soil moisture alter stable isotope composition of nitrogen and oxygen in nitrous oxide evolved from soil. Isot Environ Health Stud 39(1):41–52

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mohn J, Tuzson B, Manninen A, Yoshida N, Toyoda S, Brand WA, Emmenegger L (2012) Site selective real-time measurements of atmospheric N2O isotopomers by laser spectroscopy. Atmos Meas Tech 5:1601–1609

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nikolenko O, Jurado A, Borges AV, Knöller K, Brouyère S (2018) Isotopic composition of nitrogen species in groundwater under agricultural areas: a review. Sci Total Environ 621:1415–1432

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Opdyke MR, Ostrom NE, Ostrom PH (2009) Evidence for the predominance of denitrification as a source of N2O in temperate agricultural soils based on isotopologue measurements. Glob Biogeochemi Cycles 23(4):GB4018. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GB003523

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom NE, Pitt A, Sutka R, Ostrom PH, Grandy AS, Huizinga KM, Robertson GP (2007) Isotopologue effects during N2O reduction in soils and in pure cultures of denitrifiers. J Geophys Res Biogeo 112:G02002. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JG000287

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom NE, Sutka R, Ostrom PH, Grandy AS, Huizinga KM, Gandhi H, von Fischer JC, Robertson GP (2010) Isotopologue data reveal bacterial denitrification as the primary source of N2O during a high flux event following cultivation of a native temperate grassland. Soil Biol Biochem 42(3):499–506

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom NE, Ostrom PH (2017) Mining the isotopic complexity of nitrous oxide: a review of challenges and opportunities. Biogeochemistry 132:359–372

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pérez T, Garcia-Montiel D, Trumbore S, Tyler S, de Camargo P, Moreira M, Piccolo M, Cerri C (2006) Nitrous oxide nitrification and denitrification 15N enrichment factors from Amazon forest soils. Ecol Appl 16:2153–2167

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shearer G, Kohl DH (1993) Natural abundance of 15N: fractional contribution of two sources to a common sink and use of isotope discrimination. In: Knowles R, Blackburn TH (eds) Nitrogen Isotope Techniques. Academic Press, London, pp 89–125

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheng WP, Yu GR, Fang HJ, Liu YC, Wang QF, Chen Z, Zhang L (2014) Regional patterns of 15N natural abundance in forest ecosystems along a large transect in eastern China. Sci Rep 4:4249

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Snider DM, Wagner-Riddle C, Spoelstra J (2017) Stable isotopes reveal rapid cycling of soil nitrogen after manure application. J Environ Qual 46:261–271

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sparks DL (1996) Methods of soil analysis, part 3–chemical methods. In: Sparks DL (ed) SSSA Book Series, No. 5. SSSA, Inc. and American Society of Agronomy, Inc., Madison, pp 475–1185.

  • Stanford G, Dzienia S, Vander Pol RA (1975) Effect of temperature on denitrification rate in soils. Soil Sci Soc Am Proc 39:867–870

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sutka RL, Adams GC, Ostrom NE, Ostrom PH (2008) Isotopologue fractionation during N2O production by fungal denitrification. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 22:3989–3996

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sutka RL, Ostrom NE, Ostrom PH, Breznak JA, Gandhi H, Pitt AJ, Li F (2006) Distinguishing nitrous oxide production from nitrification and denitrification on the basis of isotopomer abundances. Appl Environ Microbiol 72:638–644

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Tilsner J, Wrage N, Lauf J, Gebauer G (2003a) Emission of gaseous nitrogen oxides from an extensively managed grassland in NE Bavaria, Germany. II. Stable isotope natural abundance of N2O. Biogeochemistry 63:249–267

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tilsner J, Wrage N, Lauf J, Gebauer G (2003b) Emission of gaseous nitrogen oxides from an extensively managed grassland ecosystem in NE Bavaria, Germany. I: annual budgets of N2O and NOx emissions. Biogeochemistry 63:229–247

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Toyoda S, Mutobe H, Yamagishi H, Yoshida N, Tanji Y (2005) Fractionation of N2O isotopomers during production by denitrifier. Soil Biol Biochem 37:1535–1545

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang YY, Hu CS, Ming H, Oenema O, Schaefer DA, Dong WX, Zhang YM, Li XX (2014) Methane, Carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide fluxes in soil profile under a winter wheat-summer maize rotation in the North China Plain. PLoS ONE 9(6):e98445

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wang YY, Hu CS, Ming H, Zhang YM, Li XX, Dong WX, Oenema O (2013) Concentration profiles of CH4, CO2 and N2O in soils of a wheat–maize rotation ecosystem in North China Plain, measured weekly over a whole year. Agr Ecosyst Environ 164:260–272

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang YY, Li XX, Dong WX, Wu DM, Hu CS, Zhang YM, Luo YQ (2018) Depth–dependent greenhouse gas production and consumption in an upland cropping system in northern China. Geoderma 319:100–112

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Well R, Flessa H (2009a) Isotopologue signatures of N2O produced by denitrification in soils. J Geophys Res-Biogeo 114:G02020. https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JG000804

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Well R, Flessa H (2009b) Isotopologue enrichment factors of N2O reduction in soils. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 23:2996–3002

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wolf B, Merbold L, Decock C, Tuzson B, Harris E, Six J, Emmenegger L, Mohn J (2015) First on-line isotopic characterization of N2O above intensively managed grassland. Biogeosciences 12:2517–2531

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiao HY, Liu CQ (2002) Sources of nitrogen and sulfur in wet deposition at Guiyang, southwest China. Atmos Environ 36:5121–5130

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xiong ZQ, Khalil MAK, Xing G, Shearer MJ, Butenhoff C (2009) Isotopic signatures and concentration profiles of nitrous oxide in a rice-based ecosystem during the drained crop-growing season. J Geophys Res 114:G02012

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamulki S, Wolf I, Bol R, Grant B, Brumme R, Veldkamp E, Jarvis SC (2000) Effects of dung and urine amendments on the isotopic content of N2O released from grasslands. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 14:1356–1360

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yoshinari T (1990) Emissions of N2O from various environments-The use of stable isotope composition of N2O as tracer for the studies of N2O biogeochemical cycling. In: Revsbech NP, Sorensen J (eds) Denitrification in soil and sediment. Springer, New York, pp 129–150

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoshida N (1988) 15N-depleted N2O as a product of nitrification. Nature 335:528–529

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Liu X, Fangmeier A, Goulding K, Zhang F (2008) Nitrogen inputs and isotopes in precipitation in the North China Plain. Atmos Environ 42:1436–1448

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu ZL, Wen QX (1992) Research on soil nitrogen in China. Phoenix Science Press, Nanjing

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu KZ, Wan MW (1995) Phenology. Science Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41875180, Grant No. 41530859), and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFD0200307). We sincerely thank Jinlian Li, Junqi Yang, Shuqin Wen and Xinzhi Kang for their hard work and enthusiasm in the field.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Yuying Wang and Wenxu Dong have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Hebei Key Laboratory of Soil Ecology, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 286 Huaizhong Road, Shijiazhuang, 050021, China

    Yuying Wang, Wenxu Dong, Yuming Zhang, Xiaoxin Li & Chunsheng Hu

  2. Land and Environment, AgResearch, Hamilton, 3240, New Zealand

    Jiafa Luo

Authors
  1. Yuying Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wenxu Dong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yuming Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Xiaoxin Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jiafa Luo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Chunsheng Hu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chunsheng Hu.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 75 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, Y., Dong, W., Zhang, Y. et al. δ15N–N2O signatures in response to N fertilization in a wheat–maize rotation. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 119, 369–387 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-021-10123-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-021-10123-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation