Summary
This narrative review synthesises methodological approaches for measuring soil denitrification and the relative proportions of its gaseous products (N2O versus N2). The authors evaluate the strengths and limitations of inhibitor-based, helium/O2 exchange, and isotopic methods, proposing quality parameters for field and laboratory applications. The review emphasises that whilst method combinations and real-time monitoring can improve quantification in controlled settings, there remains a critical need for more mobile and accessible field methods to constrain denitrification measurements across terrestrial soils at different scales.
UK applicability
The methodological framework and quality parameters proposed will be directly applicable to UK upland and lowland soil studies, which often require denitrification quantification for agricultural and environmental monitoring. However, the review highlights that current instrumentation remains resource-intensive, which may constrain adoption by UK research institutions and farming systems advisors without specialised laboratory facilities.
Key measures
N2 emissions, N2O emissions, N2O:(N2O + N2) emission ratio, denitrification rates measured via inhibitors, helium/O2 atmosphere exchange, and isotopic tracing methods
Outcomes reported
The review examined and evaluated multiple methodological approaches for quantifying both N2 and N2O emissions from terrestrial soils, including inhibitor-based, helium/O2 exchange, and isotopic methods. The authors proposed quality parameters for measuring denitrification across scales and identified that combined methods with real-time monitoring and soil-gas diffusivity modelling offer improved quantitative understanding.
Topic tags
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