Coupled abiotic-biotic cycling of nitrous oxide in tropical peatlands

Steffen Buessecker; Analissa F. Sarno; Mark C. Reynolds; Ramani Chavan; Jin Park; Marc Fontánez Ortiz; Ana G. Pérez-Castillo; Grober Panduro Pisco; José David Urquiza-Muñoz; Leonardo P. Reis; Jefferson Ferreira-Ferreira; Jair M. Furtunato Maia; Keith E. Holbert; C. Ryan Penton; Sharon J. Hall; Hasand Gandhi; Iola G. Boëchat; Björn Gücker; Nathaniel E. Ostrom; Hinsby Cadillo-Quiroz

doi:10.1038/s41559-022-01892-y

Coupled abiotic-biotic cycling of nitrous oxide in tropical peatlands

Steffen Buessecker, Analissa F. Sarno, Mark C. Reynolds, Ramani Chavan, Jin Park, Marc Fontánez Ortiz, Ana G. Pérez-Castillo, Grober Panduro Pisco, José David Urquiza-Muñoz, Leonardo P. Reis, Jefferson Ferreira-Ferreira, Jair M. Furtunato Maia, Keith E. Holbert, C. Ryan Penton, Sharon J. Hall, Hasand Gandhi, Iola G. Boëchat, Björn Gücker, Nathaniel E. Ostrom, Hinsby Cadillo-Quiroz

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Atmospheric nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a potent greenhouse gas thought to be mainly derived from microbial metabolism as part of the denitrification pathway. Here we report that in unexplored peat soils of Central and South America, N₂O production can be driven by abiotic reactions (≤98%) highly competitive to their enzymatic counterparts. Extracted soil iron positively correlated with in situ abiotic N₂O production determined by isotopic tracers. Moreover, we found that microbial N₂O reduction accompanied abiotic production, essentially closing a coupled abiotic-biotic N₂O cycle. Anaerobic N₂O consumption occurred ubiquitously (pH 6.4–3.7), with proportions of diverse clade II N₂O reducers increasing with consumption rates. Our findings show that denitrification in tropical peat soils is not a purely biological process but rather a ‘mosaic’ of abiotic and biotic reduction reactions. We predict that hydrological and temperature fluctuations differentially affect abiotic and biotic drivers and further contribute to the high N₂O flux variation in the region.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1881-1890
Number of pages	10
Journal	Nature Ecology and Evolution
Volume	6
Issue number	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01892-y
State	Published - Dec 2022

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Ecology

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Buessecker, S., Sarno, A. F., Reynolds, M. C., Chavan, R., Park, J., Fontánez Ortiz, M., Pérez-Castillo, A. G., Panduro Pisco, G., Urquiza-Muñoz, J. D., Reis, L. P., Ferreira-Ferreira, J., Furtunato Maia, J. M., Holbert, K. E., Penton, C. R., Hall, S. J., Gandhi, H., Boëchat, I. G., Gücker, B., Ostrom, N. E., & Cadillo-Quiroz, H. (2022). Coupled abiotic-biotic cycling of nitrous oxide in tropical peatlands. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 6(12), 1881-1890. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01892-y

Buessecker, S, Sarno, AF, Reynolds, MC, Chavan, R, Park, J, Fontánez Ortiz, M, Pérez-Castillo, AG, Panduro Pisco, G, Urquiza-Muñoz, JD, Reis, LP, Ferreira-Ferreira, J, Furtunato Maia, JM, Holbert, KE , Penton, CR , Hall, SJ, Gandhi, H, Boëchat, IG, Gücker, B, Ostrom, NE & Cadillo-Quiroz, H 2022, 'Coupled abiotic-biotic cycling of nitrous oxide in tropical peatlands', Nature Ecology and Evolution, vol. 6, no. 12, pp. 1881-1890. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01892-y

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title = "Coupled abiotic-biotic cycling of nitrous oxide in tropical peatlands",

abstract = "Atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas thought to be mainly derived from microbial metabolism as part of the denitrification pathway. Here we report that in unexplored peat soils of Central and South America, N2O production can be driven by abiotic reactions (≤98%) highly competitive to their enzymatic counterparts. Extracted soil iron positively correlated with in situ abiotic N2O production determined by isotopic tracers. Moreover, we found that microbial N2O reduction accompanied abiotic production, essentially closing a coupled abiotic-biotic N2O cycle. Anaerobic N2O consumption occurred ubiquitously (pH 6.4–3.7), with proportions of diverse clade II N2O reducers increasing with consumption rates. Our findings show that denitrification in tropical peat soils is not a purely biological process but rather a {\textquoteleft}mosaic{\textquoteright} of abiotic and biotic reduction reactions. We predict that hydrological and temperature fluctuations differentially affect abiotic and biotic drivers and further contribute to the high N2O flux variation in the region.",

author = "Steffen Buessecker and Sarno, {Analissa F.} and Reynolds, {Mark C.} and Ramani Chavan and Jin Park and {Font{\'a}nez Ortiz}, Marc and P{\'e}rez-Castillo, {Ana G.} and {Panduro Pisco}, Grober and Urquiza-Mu{\~n}oz, {Jos{\'e} David} and Reis, {Leonardo P.} and Jefferson Ferreira-Ferreira and {Furtunato Maia}, {Jair M.} and Holbert, {Keith E.} and Penton, {C. Ryan} and Hall, {Sharon J.} and Hasand Gandhi and Bo{\"e}chat, {Iola G.} and Bj{\"o}rn G{\"u}cker and Ostrom, {Nathaniel E.} and Hinsby Cadillo-Quiroz",

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AU - Buessecker, Steffen

AU - Sarno, Analissa F.

AU - Reynolds, Mark C.

AU - Chavan, Ramani

AU - Park, Jin

AU - Fontánez Ortiz, Marc

AU - Pérez-Castillo, Ana G.

AU - Panduro Pisco, Grober

AU - Urquiza-Muñoz, José David

AU - Reis, Leonardo P.

AU - Ferreira-Ferreira, Jefferson

AU - Furtunato Maia, Jair M.

AU - Holbert, Keith E.

AU - Penton, C. Ryan

AU - Hall, Sharon J.

AU - Gandhi, Hasand

AU - Boëchat, Iola G.

AU - Gücker, Björn

AU - Ostrom, Nathaniel E.

AU - Cadillo-Quiroz, Hinsby

PY - 2022/12

Y1 - 2022/12

N2 - Atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas thought to be mainly derived from microbial metabolism as part of the denitrification pathway. Here we report that in unexplored peat soils of Central and South America, N2O production can be driven by abiotic reactions (≤98%) highly competitive to their enzymatic counterparts. Extracted soil iron positively correlated with in situ abiotic N2O production determined by isotopic tracers. Moreover, we found that microbial N2O reduction accompanied abiotic production, essentially closing a coupled abiotic-biotic N2O cycle. Anaerobic N2O consumption occurred ubiquitously (pH 6.4–3.7), with proportions of diverse clade II N2O reducers increasing with consumption rates. Our findings show that denitrification in tropical peat soils is not a purely biological process but rather a ‘mosaic’ of abiotic and biotic reduction reactions. We predict that hydrological and temperature fluctuations differentially affect abiotic and biotic drivers and further contribute to the high N2O flux variation in the region.

AB - Atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas thought to be mainly derived from microbial metabolism as part of the denitrification pathway. Here we report that in unexplored peat soils of Central and South America, N2O production can be driven by abiotic reactions (≤98%) highly competitive to their enzymatic counterparts. Extracted soil iron positively correlated with in situ abiotic N2O production determined by isotopic tracers. Moreover, we found that microbial N2O reduction accompanied abiotic production, essentially closing a coupled abiotic-biotic N2O cycle. Anaerobic N2O consumption occurred ubiquitously (pH 6.4–3.7), with proportions of diverse clade II N2O reducers increasing with consumption rates. Our findings show that denitrification in tropical peat soils is not a purely biological process but rather a ‘mosaic’ of abiotic and biotic reduction reactions. We predict that hydrological and temperature fluctuations differentially affect abiotic and biotic drivers and further contribute to the high N2O flux variation in the region.

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Coupled abiotic-biotic cycling of nitrous oxide in tropical peatlands

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