Mechanistic insights into the microbial pathways for nitrate loss in forest ecosystems

• Project/Area Number: 24K20923
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 63010:Environmental dynamic analysis-related
• Research Institution: Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences
• Principal Investigator: 鄭 錦森 国立研究開発法人国際農林水産業研究センター, 生産環境・畜産領域, 任期付研究員 (20836506)
• Project Period (FY): 2024-04-01 – 2027-03-31
• Project Status: Granted (Fiscal Year 2024)
• Budget Amount: ¥4,680,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,080,000); Fiscal Year 2026: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000); Fiscal Year 2025: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000); Fiscal Year 2024: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000)
• Keywords: Nitrate reduction / DNRA / Anammox / Denitrification

Outline of Research at the Start

N cycling is a key aspect of forest ecosystem functioning. Among the different forms of plant-available N, nitrate largely determines N loss from soils. In addition to leaching, nitrate can be reduced by microbes through three dissimilatory pathways: denitrification (N lost to N2 and N2O, potent greenhouse gases), anaerobic ammonia oxidation (N lost to N2), and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (N retained by converting nitrate to ammonium). Understanding the pattern of and factors controlling the competition for nitrate would increase our ability to manipulate the fate of nitrate.