Inhibition of Methylmercury and Methane Formation by Nitrous Oxide in Arctic Tundra Soil Microcosms.

ABSTRACT: Climate warming causes permafrost thaw predicted to increase toxic methylmercury (MeHg) and greenhouse gas [i.e., methane (CH₄), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and nitrous oxide (N₂O)] formation. A microcosm incubation study with Arctic tundra soil over 145 days demonstrates that N₂O at 0.1 and 1 mM markedly inhibited microbial MeHg formation, methanogenesis, and sulfate reduction, while it slightly promoted CO₂ production. Microbial community analyses indicate that N₂O decreased the relative abundances of methanogenic archaea and microbial clades implicated in sulfate reduction and MeHg formation. Following depletion of N₂O, both MeHg formation and sulfate reduction rapidly resumed, whereas CH₄ production remai

SUBMITTER: Zhang L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10100821 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature