Direct biological fixation provides a freshwater sink for N2O
Direct biological fixation provides a freshwater sink for N2O
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent climate gas, with its strong warming potential and ozone-depleting properties both focusing research on N2O sources. Although a sink for N2O through biological fixation has been observed in the Pacific, the regulation of N2O-fixation compared to canonical N2-fixation is unknown. Here we show that both N2O and N2 can be fixed by freshwater communities but with distinct seasonalities and temperature dependencies. N2O fixation appears less sensitive to temperature than N2 fixation, driving a strong sink for N2O in colder months. Moreover, by quantifying both N2O and N2 fixation we show that, rather than N2O being first reduced to N2 through denitrification, N2O fixation is direct and could explain the widely reported N2O sinks in natural waters. Analysis of the nitrogenase (nifH) community suggests that while only a subset is potentially capable of fixing N2O they maintain a strong, freshwater sink for N2O that could be eroded by warming.
Denitrification, Fresh Water, N fixation, Nitrous Oxide
Si, Yueyue
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Zhu, Yizhu
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Sanders, Ian
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Kinkel, Dorothee B.
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Purdy, Kevin J.
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Trimmer, Mark
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December 2023
Si, Yueyue
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Zhu, Yizhu
6995b9bf-9ce4-46df-830f-a272a50f758f
Sanders, Ian
a7d8a79d-62f6-4df1-a008-209e6425ce51
Kinkel, Dorothee B.
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Purdy, Kevin J.
e23c9bcc-e26f-4e81-92f1-9cd80b5ee120
Trimmer, Mark
c5d8598a-d7a3-411f-a380-80498066d88c
Si, Yueyue, Zhu, Yizhu, Sanders, Ian, Kinkel, Dorothee B., Purdy, Kevin J. and Trimmer, Mark
(2023)
Direct biological fixation provides a freshwater sink for N2O.
Nature Communications, 14 (1), [6775].
(doi:10.1038/s41467-023-42481-2).
Abstract
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent climate gas, with its strong warming potential and ozone-depleting properties both focusing research on N2O sources. Although a sink for N2O through biological fixation has been observed in the Pacific, the regulation of N2O-fixation compared to canonical N2-fixation is unknown. Here we show that both N2O and N2 can be fixed by freshwater communities but with distinct seasonalities and temperature dependencies. N2O fixation appears less sensitive to temperature than N2 fixation, driving a strong sink for N2O in colder months. Moreover, by quantifying both N2O and N2 fixation we show that, rather than N2O being first reduced to N2 through denitrification, N2O fixation is direct and could explain the widely reported N2O sinks in natural waters. Analysis of the nitrogenase (nifH) community suggests that while only a subset is potentially capable of fixing N2O they maintain a strong, freshwater sink for N2O that could be eroded by warming.
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s41467-023-42481-2
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Accepted/In Press date: 12 October 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 25 October 2023
Published date: December 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This study was supported through a PhD Studentship from Queen Mary University of London and additionally by the Leverhulme Trust (RPG-2019-008) to M.T. We thank M. Rouen for designing and installing the warming and data-logging system for the ponds, W. Beaumont for providing the on-site wind speed data, and J. Pretty for routine maintenance of the ponds.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, Springer Nature Limited.
Keywords:
Denitrification, Fresh Water, N fixation, Nitrous Oxide
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 484395
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/484395
ISSN: 2041-1723
PURE UUID: 82732b3e-28f2-412d-b947-4430981143c1
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Date deposited: 16 Nov 2023 11:47
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 02:17
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Contributors
Author:
Yueyue Si
Author:
Yizhu Zhu
Author:
Ian Sanders
Author:
Dorothee B. Kinkel
Author:
Kevin J. Purdy
Author:
Mark Trimmer
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