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Appl Environ Microbiol. 1985 May; 49(5): 1053-1056
Copyright © 1985, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Adaptation of Denitrifying Populations to Low Soil pH {dagger}

Timothy B. Parkin*, Alan J. Sexstone and James M. Tiedje

3 Soil Nitrogen and Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center-West, Beltsville, Maryland 207051; Division of Plant and Soil Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 265062; and Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 488233

ABSTRACT

Natural denitrification rates and activities of denitrifying enzymes were measured in an agricultural soil which had a 20-year past history of low pH (pH ca. 4) due to fertilization with acid-generating ammonium salts. The soil adjacent to this site had been limed and had a pH of ca. 6.0. Natural denitrification rates of these areas were of similar magnitude: 158 ng of N g–1 of soil day–1 for the acid soil and 390 ng of N g–1 of soil day–1 at the neutral site. Estimates of in situ denitrifying enzyme activity were higher in the neutral soil, but substantial enzyme activity was also detected in the acid soil. Rates of nitrous oxide reduction were very low, even when NO3– and NO2– were undetectable, and were ca. 400 times lower than the rates of N2O production from NO3–. Denitrification rates measured in slurries of the acid and neutral soil showed distinctly different pH optima (pH 3.9 and pH 6.3) which were near the pH values of the two soils. This suggests that an acid-tolerant denitrifying population had been selected during the 20-year period of low pH.

FOOTNOTES

* Corresponding author.

{dagger} Joint contribution from the United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, Md., and the Departments of Crop and Soil Sciences and of Microbiology and Public Health, Michigan State University, East Lansing.

Appl Environ Microbiol. 1985 May; 49(5): 1053-1056
Copyright © 1985, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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