Denitrification measured directly using a single-inlet mass spectrometer and by acetylene inhibition

Most published efforts to measure total denitrification losses directly by mass spectrometry have employed dual-inlet mass spectrometers, which correct for instrumental drift between samples. Here we have employed a simpler and cheaper single-inlet instrument to measure fluxes from, and concentratio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Soil biology & biochemistry 1993, Vol.25 (2), p.233-238
Main Authors: Arah, J.R.M., Crichton, I.J., Smith, K.A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
analytical methods
Biochemistry and biology
Biological and medical sciences
Chemical, physicochemical, biochemical and biological properties
comparisons
denitrification
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
losses from soil
mass spectrometry
measurement
Microbiology
nitrates
nitrogen
nitrous oxide
Physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology of agricultural and forest soils
reduction
Soil science
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Summary:Most published efforts to measure total denitrification losses directly by mass spectrometry have employed dual-inlet mass spectrometers, which correct for instrumental drift between samples. Here we have employed a simpler and cheaper single-inlet instrument to measure fluxes from, and concentrations of denitrification gases, a clay loam under grass in southeast Scotland. The method involves periodic recalibration of the individual detectors using standard gas mixtures, and online sample pretreatment with an elemental analyser. Results exhibit the same patterns as more conventional measurements using field application of the acetylene inhibition technique, but consistently exceed them. This provides further evidence that the acetylene technique is not satisfactory for heavy-textured soils.
ISSN:0038-0717
1879-3428
DOI:10.1016/0038-0717(93)90032-7