Dissertation Research: Denitrification in Subsurface Soils

这个博士论文改进项目将研究氮从土壤到大气的损失，这一过程被称为反硝化。传统上，反硝化作用被认为主要发生在表层土壤中，但最近的证据表明，深层土壤也可以在氮循环中发挥重要作用。该项目将进行一系列实验，以评估深层土壤的反硝化速率，以及具体农业做法如何影响这一速率。反硝化是生物有效氮离开陆地生态系统的主要途径之一，与淋滤、挥发和径流一起，是唯一能够将氮返回其惰性形式二氮气体的过程。了解反硝化发生的地点和速率是理解氮循环的基础。

This doctoral dissertation improvement project will study the loss of nitrogen from soils to the atmosphere, a process called denitrification. Traditionally, denitrification was thought to occur mostly in surface soils, but recent evidence suggests that deeper soils can also play an important role in the nitrogen cycle. This project will conduct a series of experiments to assess the rates of denitrification from deep soils and how this affected by specific agricultural practices.Denitrification represents one of the major pathways that biologically available nitrogen leaves terrestrial ecosystems, along with leaching, volatilization, and runoff, and is the only process capable of returning nitrogen to its inert form of dinitrogen gas. Understanding where and at what rate dinitrification occurs is fundamental to understanding the nitrogen cycle.