Nitrification is a minor source of nitrous oxide in an agricultural landscape and declines with increasing management intensity

The long-term contribution of nitrification to nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from terrestrial ecosystems is poorly known and thus poorly constrained in biogeochemical models. Here, using Bayesian inference to couple 25 years of in situ N₂O flux measurements with site-specific Michaelis–Menten kinetics of nitrification-derived N₂O, we test the relative importance of nitrification-derived N₂O across six cropped and unmanaged ecosystems along a management intensity gradient in the U.S. Midwest. We found that the maximum potential contribution from nitrification to in situ N₂O fluxes was 13%–17% in a conventionally fertilized annual cropping system, 27%–42% in a low-input cover-cropped annual cropping system, and 52%–63% in perennial systems including a late successional deciduous forest. Actual values are likely to be <10% of these values because of low N₂O yields in cultured nitrifiers (typically 0.04%–8% of NH³ oxidized) and competing sinks for available NH₄⁺ in situ. Most nitrification-derived N₂O was produced by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria rather than archaea, who appeared responsible for no more than 30% of nitrification-derived N₂O production in all but one ecosystem. Although the proportion of nitrification-derived N₂O production was lowest in annual cropping systems, these ecosystems nevertheless produced more nitrification-derived N₂O (higher Vmax) than perennial and successional ecosystems. We conclude that nitrification is minor relative to other sources of N₂O in all ecosystems examined.