Can soil genomics predict the impact of precipitation on nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes from soil?
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas and presently emissions from soils are so poorly understood we can not predict how changes in precipitation will impact the release of this important greenhouse gas. Most nitrous oxide is released through biological processes, especially nitrification and denitrification. These processes not only affect the release of greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere but also impact important ecosystem services such as purifying air or water and regenerating soil fertility. Soil genomics, the analysis of nucleic acids from soil, can provide the basis for new ecosystem models by identifying marker sequences that estimate the impact of our energy use on N2O fluxes from soil. We have been studying four different ecosystems: mixed conifer forest, ponderosa pine forest, pinyon-juniper biome, and grassland. The sites have been subjected to three different precipitation treatments: ambient, increased (+50%), and decreased (-30%), affected by redirecting rainfa
