Rationale: The oxygen exchange fraction between soil H(2)O and N(2)O precursors differs in soils depending on the responsible N(2)O-producing process: nitrification or denitrification. This study investigated the O-exchange between soil H(2)O and N(2)O precursors in a green tea field with high N(2)O emissions.
Methods: The rainwater δ(18)O value was measured using cavity ring-down spectrometry (CRDS) and compared with that of soil water collected under the tea plant canopy and between tea plant rows. The intramolecular (15)N site preference in (β) N(α) NO (SP = δ(15)N(α) - δ(15)N(β)) was determined after measuring the δ(15)N(α) and δ(15)N(bulk) values using gas chromatography/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/IRMS), and the δ(18) O values of N(2)O and NO(3)(-) were also measured using GC/IRMS.
Results: The range of δ(18)O values of rainwater (-11.15‰ to -4.91‰) was wider than that of soil water (-7.94‰ to -5.64‰). The δ(18)O value of soil water at 50 cm depth was not immediately affected by rainwater. At 10 cm and 20 cm depths of soil between tea plant rows, linear regression analyses of δ(18)O-N(2)O (relative to δ(18)O-NO(3)(-)) versus δ(18) O-H(2)O (relative to δ(18)O-NO(3)(-)) yielded slopes of 0.76-0.80 and intercepts of 31-35‰.
Conclusions: In soil between tea plant rows, the fraction of O-exchange between H(2)O and N(2)O precursors was approximately 80%. Assuming that denitrification dominated N(2)O production, the net (18)O-isotope effect for denitrification (NO(3)(-) reduction to N(2)O) was approximately 31-35‰, reflecting the upland condition of the tea field.
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