Letter abstract
Nature Geoscience 2, 621 - 624 (2009)
Published online: 30 August 2009 | doi:10.1038/ngeo613
Subject Category: Biogeochemistry
Nitrification driven by bacteria and not archaea in nitrogen-rich grassland soils
H. J. Di1, K. C. Cameron1, J. P. Shen2, C. S. Winefield3, M. O'Callaghan4, S. Bowatte5 & J. Z. He2
The oxidation of ammonia to nitrate, nitrification, is a key process in the nitrogen cycle. Ammonia-oxidizing archaea are present in large numbers in the ocean1, 2, 3 and soils4, 5, 6, suggesting a potential role for archaea, in addition to bacteria, in the global nitrogen cycle7, 8. However, the importance of archaea to nitrification in agricultural soils is not well understood4. Here, we examine the contribution of ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria to nitrification in six grassland soils in New Zealand using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction. We show that although ammonia-oxidizing archaea are present in large numbers in these soils, neither their abundance nor their activity increased with the application of an ammonia substrate, suggesting that their abundance was not related to the rate of nitrification. In contrast, the number of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria increased 3.2–10.4-fold and their activity increased 177-fold, in response to ammonia additions. Indeed, we find a significant relationship between the abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and the rate of nitrification. We suggest that nitrification is driven by bacteria rather than archaea in these nitrogen-rich grassland soils.
- Centre for Soil and Environmental Quality, PO Box 84, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, Canterbury, New Zealand
- Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 18 Shuangqing Road, Beijing 100085, China
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, PO Box 84, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, Canterbury, New Zealand
- AgResearch, Lincoln Research Centre, Private Bag 4749, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
- AgResearch Ltd, Grasslands Research Centre, Tennent Drive, Private Bag 11008, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
Correspondence to: H. J. Di1 e-mail: Hong.Di@lincoln.ac.nz
Correspondence to: J. Z. He2 e-mail: jzhe@rcees.ac.cn
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