Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 3 — Observational / field trialPeer-reviewed

Carbon amendment and soil depth affect the distribution and abundance of denitrifiers in agricultural soils

M. Barrett, M. I. Khalil, M. M. R. Jahangir, Changsoo Lee, L. M. Cardenas, Gavin Collins, Karl G. Richards, Vincent O’Flaherty

Environmental Science and Pollution Research · 2016

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Summary

This field-based study investigated how additions of carbon (organic matter) and soil sampling depth affect the structure and abundance of denitrifying bacterial communities in agricultural soils. The work suggests that carbon amendment status and vertical soil stratification are significant drivers of denitrifier ecology, with implications for nitrogen cycling and potential nitrous oxide emissions from managed soils. The findings contribute to understanding microbial processes influencing soil nitrogen transformations under different management practices.

UK applicability

The findings are directly applicable to United Kingdom agricultural contexts, as soil conditions, climate and farming practices in Ireland are closely analogous. Understanding how carbon amendments influence denitrifier communities is relevant to UK efforts to manage soil health and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from intensively managed agricultural soils.

Key measures

Denitrifier abundance and distribution; denitrifier community composition; soil depth profiles; carbon amendment treatments

Outcomes reported

The study examined how carbon amendments and soil depth influence the distribution, abundance and community composition of denitrifying microorganisms in agricultural soils. It measured denitrifier populations and their functional diversity across soil profiles under different amendment regimes.

Theme
Farming systems, soils & land use
Subject
Soil biology & microbiology
Study type
Research
Study design
Field trial
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
Ireland
System type
Mixed farming
DOI
10.1007/s11356-015-6030-1
Catalogue ID
BFmowc1zyw-yye4h5

Topic tags

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