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Denitrification in Forest Soils

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Responses of Forest Ecosystems to Environmental Changes

Abstract

Interest in investigating denitrification in forest soils is steadily increasing in order to quantify its role in the N budget and its contribution to N2O flux to the atmosphere. Existing estimates of actual rates are very few; potential denitnfication is inconsistently defined and between-forest comparison is critical. Within-forest variability of denitrification is very high owing to microscale gradients of nitrification, C availability and oxygen. Denitrification also exhibits a strong temporal variability, with brief periods of high activity associated to wetting-drying and freezing-thawing. Denitrification in forest soils may be higher at field capacity than at saturation moisture. The successional state of the community appears to control denitrification mainly through nitrate availability. Denitrification may increase substantially following deforestation, but the effect is dependent on post-harvest treatments. Forest denitrification can act as a sink of nitrate in groundwater and counteract N deposition to some degree. To deal with the high variability of the process, soil texture and drainage and the ratio denitrifying enzyme activity/biomass C would seem to be appropriate parameters for denitrification modelling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale, Università di Napoli—Federico II, Via Foria, 223, 80139, Napoli, Italia

    Amalia Virzo De Santo

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  1. Amalia Virzo De Santo
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. European Science Foundation, Strasbourg, France

    A. Teller

  2. Commission of the European Communities, Brussels, Belgium

    P. Mathy

  3. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Grange-over-Sands, UK

    J. N. R. Jeffers

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© 1992 ECSC, EEC, EAEC, Brussels and Luxembourg

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Virzo De Santo, A. (1992). Denitrification in Forest Soils. In: Teller, A., Mathy, P., Jeffers, J.N.R. (eds) Responses of Forest Ecosystems to Environmental Changes. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2866-7_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2866-7_19

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-85166-878-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-2866-7

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