Effect of pH and dissolved organic matter on the abundance of nirK and nirS denitrifiers in spruce forest soil

Acid N depositions in the Bohemian Forest during the second half of the last century caused enormous soil acidification which led to the leaching of essential nutrients including nitrates. We investigated the effect of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and pH on the abundance of 16S RDNA, nirK and nirS...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biogeochemistry 2010-12, Vol.101 (1-3), p.123-132
Main Authors: Bárta, Jiří, Melichová, Tereza, Vaněk, Daniel, Picek, Tomáš, Šantrůčková, Hana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acid forest soil
Acid soils
Agricultural soils
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Available phosphorus
Biogeosciences
Biological and medical sciences
Denitrification
dissolved organic matter
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Ecosystems
Environmental Chemistry
Exact sciences and technology
Forest soils
Forests
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Geochemistry
Humus
Life Sciences
N depositions
nirK and nirS denitrifiers
Organic chemicals
Organic soils
qPCR
Ribosomal DNA
Soil and rock geochemistry
Soil biochemistry
Soil horizons
Soil pollution
Soils
Surficial geology
Synecology
Temperature effects
Terrestrial ecosystems
Watersheds
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Summary:Acid N depositions in the Bohemian Forest during the second half of the last century caused enormous soil acidification which led to the leaching of essential nutrients including nitrates. We investigated the effect of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and pH on the abundance of 16S RDNA, nirK and nirS gene copies in four spruce forest sites. Soil samples for molecular based quantification (qPCR) were taken from the organic litter and humus layers. The amounts of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved nitrogen (DN) were much lower in highly acidified soils. We found a strong correlation between nirK denitrifiers and the amount of available P (r = 0.83, p < 0.001), which suggested a higher nutrient sensitivity of this group of denitrifying bacteria. Additionally, we found that correlations between the amount of nirK denitrifiers and DOC and pH are exponentional showing two important threshold values, being 4.8 mol kg⁻¹ and 5, respectively. The amount of nirK denitrifiers rapidly decreased below these values. The amount of nirK and nirS denitrifiers was higher in the organic litter horizon than the organic humus horizon at all sampling sites.
ISSN:0168-2563
1573-515X
DOI:10.1007/s10533-010-9430-9