Duration and frequency of drainage and flooding events interactively affect soil biogeochemistry and N flux in subtropical peat soils

摘要

With the demand for restoration and future prediction of climate change effects, subtropical peatlands are expected to be subjected to hydrologic regimes with variable duration and frequency of drained and flooded conditions, but knowledge of their interactive effects on soil biogeochemistry and emission of greenhouse gases including nitrous oxide (N_2O) is largely limited. The objective of this study was to investigate how the duration and frequency of drainage and flooding events interactively influence soil biogeochemical properties and denitri-fication and related net N_2O production rates following rewetting. Surface soils are susceptible to different hydro-logic regimes. Significantly higher pH, extractable organic carbon (ext OC), ammonium (NH_4~+-N), denitrification enzyme activity (DEA), but lower nitrate (NO_3~--N), microbial biomass C and N were observed when the peat soils were under flooded conditions compared to drained conditions. Two-week and four-week drainage or flooding duration did not result in statistically significant differences in soil biogeochemical properties. A 24-week prolonged drainage led to an accumulation of NO_3~--N and a significantly lower pH. Soil microbial biomass and fungal:bacterial abundance likely increased with the frequency of drainage-flooding cycles. Significant differences in denitrification and net N_2O production rates following reflooding were mainly found in the surface soils. Structural equation modeling indicated that hydroperiod and water-filled pore space (WFPS) prior to reflooding is likely to control denitrification and net N_2O production through its regulation of NO_3~--N and activity of microorganisms involved in denitrification while higher drainage-flooding frequency decreases the availability of organic C and NO_3~--N for denitrification. Our results also suggest high NO_3~--N and low pH within peat soils caused by prolonged drainage likely leads to a significant N_2O emission pulse following reflooding. For peat soils subjected to frequent drainage-flooding cycles, N_2O emission pulses following reflooding would decrease with time, attributing to the loss of substrates for denitrification.