Denitrification and Biodiversity of Denitrifiers in a High-Mountain Mediterranean Lake.

ABSTRACT: Wet deposition of reactive nitrogen (Nr) species is considered a main factor contributing to N inputs, of which nitrate ([Formula: see text]) is usually the major component in high-mountain lakes. The microbial group of denitrifiers are largely responsible for reduction of nitrate to molecular dinitrogen (N₂) in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, but the role of denitrification in removal of contaminant nitrates in high-mountain lakes is not well understood. We have used the oligotrophic, high-altitude La Caldera lake in the Sierra Nevada range (Spain) as a model to study the role of denitrification in nitrate removal. Dissolved inorganic Nr concentration in the water column of la Caldera, mainly nitrate, decreased over the ice-free season which was not associated with growth o

SUBMITTER: Castellano-Hinojosa A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5635049 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature