The denitrification paradox: The role of O2 in sediment N2O production

We designed a novel laboratory sediment flux chamber in which we maintained the headspace O2 partial pressure at preselected values, allowing us to experimentally regulate “in-situ” O2 to evaluate its role in net N2O production by an intertidal estuarine sediment (Tyne, UK). In short-term (30 h) incubations with 10 L of overlying estuarine water (∼3 cm depth) and headspace O2 regulation (headspace: sediment/water ratio ∼9:1), net N2O production was highest at 1.2% O2 (sub-oxic; 32.3 nmol N2O m−2 d−1), an order of magnitude higher than at either 0.0% (anoxic; 2.5 N2O nmol m−2 d−1) or 20.85% (ambient; 2.3 nmol N2O m−2 d−1) O2. In a longer-term sealed incubation (∼490 h) without O2 control, time-dependent behaviour of N2O in the tank headspace was highly non-linear with time, showing distinct phases: (i) an initial period of no or little change in O2 or N2O up to ∼ 100 h; (ii) a quasi-linear, inverse correlation between O2 and N2O to ∼360 h, in which O2 declined to ∼2.1% and N2O rose to ∼7800 natm; (iii) over the following 50 h a slower O2 decline, to ∼1.1%, and a more rapid N2O increase, to ∼12000 natm; (iv) over the next 24 h a slowed O2 decline towards undetectable levels and a sharp fall in N2O to ∼4600 natm; (iv) a continued N2O decrease at zero O2, to ∼3000 natm by ∼ 490 h. These results show clearly that rapid N2O consumption (∼115 nmol m−2 d−1), presumably via heterotrophic denitrification (HD), occurs under fully anoxic conditions and therefore that N2O production, which was optimal for sub-oxic O2, results from other nitrogen transformation processes. In experiments in which we amended sediment overlying water to either 1 mM NH4+ or 1 mM NO3−, N2O production rates were 2-134 nmol N2O m−2 d−1 (NH4+ addition) and 0.4-2.2 nmol N2O m−2 d−1 (NO3− addition). We conclude that processes involving NH4+ oxidation (nitrifier nitrification; nitrifier denitrification; nitrification-coupled denitrification) are principally responsible for N2O production in Tyne sediments. Highest N2O production occurred under sub-oxic headspace (∼1.2 O2%) incubations. Anoxic sediments where HD was isolated acted as periodic N2O sinks or relatively small sources of N2O. Our experimental approach thus gives valuable insight into the O2 effect on N2O fluxes from intertidal sediments.