Biotic and abiotic controls on co-occurring nitrogen cycling processes in shallow Arctic shelf sediments.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 27782213.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms13145 and PMC identifier 5095177.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The processes that convert bioavailable inorganic nitrogen to inert nitrogen gas are prominent in continental shelf sediments and represent a critical global sink, yet little is known of these pathways in the Arctic where 18% of the world's continental shelves are located. Moreover, few data from the Arctic exist that separate loss processes like denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) from recycling pathways like dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) or source pathways like nitrogen fixation. Here we present measurements of these co-occurring processes using <sup>15</sup>N tracers. Denitrification was heterogeneous among stations and an order of magnitude greater than anammox and DNRA, while nitrogen fixation was undetectable. No abiotic factors correlated with interstation variability in biogeochemical rates; however, bioturbation potential explained most of the variation. Fauna-enhanced denitrification is a potentially important but overlooked process on Arctic shelves and highlights the role of the Arctic as a significant global nitrogen sink.