Nitrous oxide production in soils and the ratio of the fungal to bacterial biomass

Abstract

The proportion between the fungal and bacterial biomass, the potential activity of denitrification, and the intensity of N 2 O production were determined in the soils (chernozem and soddy-podzolic) of secondary biocenoses formed upon the abandoning of agricultural lands. The substitution of meadow and forest vegetation for agrocenoses has led to an increase in the percentage of the fungal biomass in the upper soil horizons. The rate of the net N 2 O production after the soil moistening positively correlated with the content of nitrates. In the soddy-podzolic soil (pH 3.7-5.6), the rate of nitrous oxide production was higher than that in the chernozem (pH 6.1-6.8). The rate of N 2 O production was inversely proportional to the bacterial biomass in the soils.