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Nitrous oxide production by estuarine epiphyton
Author(s) -
Cliff S. Law,
Andrew P. Rees,
Nick Owens
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1993.38.2.0435
Subject(s) - diel vertical migration , epiphyte , estuary , nitrous oxide , population , environmental science , denitrifying bacteria , photosynthesis , denitrification , environmental chemistry , oceanography , botany , ecology , biology , chemistry , nitrogen , geology , demography , organic chemistry , sociology
Nitrous oxide was produced by denitrifying bacteria in epiphytic communities on the surface of the macroalgae Enteromorpha sp. and Fucus sp. during spring‐summer in the Tamar estuary, SW England. Denitrification and N 2 O production exhibited diel variability, in response to photosynthetic oxygen production. Temporal variability in the rate of N 2 O production was observed in Enteromorpha incubations; the variability reflected the heterogeneity of the epiphytic microbial population density. N 2 O production by epiphyton associated with Enteromorpha would enhance the sediment N 2 O flux by 150–500% at maximal algal densities and so increase estuarine N 2 O flux to the atmosphere.