Nitrous oxide production from soil denitrification: applying meta-analysis to quantify relationships with environmental and experimental conditions

FOLTZ, M.; ZILLES, J.; ALESSO, C. A.; BOLLERO, G.A.

Saint Louis

Conferencia; 2022 Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) Research and Education Conference; 2022

At the interface of soil, water, and air, denitrification reduces dissolved nitrate and nitrite to nitrogen gases. When the denitrification process does not reach completion, nitrous oxide (N 2 O) can be produced, thus contributing to global climate change and stratospheric ozone destruction. The ratio of N 2 O production to total denitrification (N 2 O ratio) is a measure of denitrification completion and is currently difficult to predict. The primary objective of this study was to quantify relationships between soil properties, experimental conditions, and the N 2 O ratio. To this end, we systematically reviewed and quantitatively evaluated results from published laboratory denitrification studies. A 2021 Scopus search was used to identify studiesthat measured N 2 O production and denitrification from soil incubations with experimental nutrient (nitrogen and/or carbon) addition. A database was compiled to statistically identify influential variables for the N 2 O ratio and assess the effect of added nutrients on the N 2 O ratio via meta-analysis. Tree-based models and correlation analysis highlighted nutrient addition, texture, and soil pH as the most influential variables for the N 2 O ratio. Meta-analysis revealed that nutrient addition had an overall significant, positive treatment effect (0.30 ± 0.03, P