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Advances in Marine Nitrogen Cycle

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A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical Oceanography".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 May 2022) | Viewed by 10362

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xianbiao Lin

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Guest Editor

Key Laboratory of Marine Chemical and Marine Chemical Engineering, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
Interests: denitrification; anammox; DNRA; nitrification; N mineralization and immobilization; nitrous oxide; N isotope technique
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Jing Wei

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Guest Editor

School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China
Interests: climate change; greenhouse gas (N₂O); nitrogen geochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Xiyang Dong

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor

School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai 519000, China
Interests: N biogeochemical cycles; microbial metabolisms; metagenomics; deep biosphere; cold seep; viruses of microbes; marine sediment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on the controlling factors, processes and fluxes of biogeochemical nitrogen cycling in marine environments. Nitrogen cycling in marine ecosystems is complex, dynamic in space and time, and dependent on multiple interrelated ecosystem components. Although an increasing number of studies have been carried out on marine nitrogen cycling, there are fewer than those on terrestrial ecosystems. The workings of the oceanic nitrogen cycle may seem arcane, but understanding them is a necessary component in understanding both global marine productivity and climate change.

We invite researchers to submit articles that advance our understanding of nitrogen pollution, forms, fluxes, sources, fates, transformation processes and associated microorganisms in various marine ecosystems (including ocean, shallow seas, estuaries, coasts, as well as intertidal habitats).

Dr. Xianbiao Lin
Dr. Jing Wei
Dr. Xiyang Dong
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

nitrogen pollution
N-limited
N forms
N fluxes
nitrous oxide
nitrogen transformation processes
microbial metabolisms
climate change
marine ecosystems

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 1778 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Aquaculture Reclamation on Sediment Nitrates Reduction Processes in Mangrove Wetland

by Lin Hao and Jiafang Huang

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(7), 857; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10070857 - 23 Jun 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1802

Abstract

Sediment denitrification, anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), and nitrate dissimilation to ammonium (DNRA) play an important role in controlling the dynamics of nitrates (NO_x⁻) and their fate in estuarine and coastal ecosystems. However, the effects of land-use change on NO_x⁻ reduction processes in mangrove sediments are still unclear. Here, we used a mud experiment method combined with a ¹⁵N stable isotope tracer method to study the mechanism and ecological environment of the change of land use pattern on the sediment NO_x⁻ reduction processes in mangrove wetlands. Our study showed that most physicochemical parameters, NO_x⁻ reduction rates, and their gene abundances varied considerably. The denitrification, anammox, and DNRA rates in mangrove sediment cores were in a range of 1.04–4.24 nmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, 0.14–0.36 nmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, and 0–2.72 nmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, respectively. The denitrification, anammox, and DNRA rates in aquaculture sediment cores were in a range of 1.06–10.96 nmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, 0.13–0.37 nmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, and 0–1.96 nmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, respectively. The highest values of denitrification, anammox, DNRA, the contribution of denitrification and DNRA to total NO_x⁻ reduction (DEN% and DNRA%), gene abundances (nirS, Amx 16S rRNA, and nrfA), total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and TOC/TN in sediments were generally found in the top layer (0–5 cm) and then decreased with depth, while the contribution of anammox to total NO_x⁻ reduction (ANA%), Fe²⁺, and Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ were generally increased with sediment depth in both mangrove and aquaculture ecosystems. When mangrove wetlands are transformed into pools, some properties (including TOC, TN, and Fe³⁺), DNRA rates, DRNA%, and nrfA gene abundances were decreased, while some properties (including NH₄⁺, TOC/TN, Fe²⁺, and Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺), denitrification rates, DEN%, nirS, and ANAMMOX 16S gene abundances were increased. Sediment organic matter (TOC and TN) content and Fe²⁺ both affected NO₃⁻ reduction rates, with organic matter the most prominent factor. Thus, aquaculture reclamation enhances N loss while reducing N retention in sediments of mangrove wetlands, which plays an important role in regulating the source and fate of reactive N in mangrove ecosystems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Marine Nitrogen Cycle)

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11 pages, 1492 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sediment Nitrate Dissimilatory Reduction Processes along a Salinity Gradient in an Estuarine and Coastal Wetland, China

by Lin Gao, Chen Liu, Mingcong Li and Xianbiao Lin

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(6), 761; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10060761 - 31 May 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1648

Abstract

Nitrate (NO₃⁻) dissimilatory reduction processes (denitrification, anammox and dissimilatory NO₃⁻ reduction to ammonium (DNRA)) in estuarine and coastal ecosystems play a crucial role in regulating reactive nitrogen loadings. However, nitrate reduction process rates and relative proportions along the estuarine salinity gradient remain poorly understood. Here, denitrification, anammox and DNRA were explored simultaneously along a salinity gradient in Yangtze Estuary based on nitrogen isotope-tracing experiments. Measured denitrification, anammox and DNRA process rates were in the range of 2.33–28.21 nmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, 0.43–1.87 nmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ and 0.28–0.74 nmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, respectively, with a large spatio-temporal variation. The changes in these nitrate reduction process rates were mainly affected by the TOC, TN, NH₄⁺ and NO_x⁻ concentrations, rather than salinity and related functional gene abundance. Denitrification dominated the total NO₃⁻ reduction process (67.52 to 93.85%), while anammox (3.67 to 25.01%) and DNRA (2.48 to 11.21%) also played a substantially important role in nitrate reduction. The proportions of denitrification to gross nitrate reduction in high-salinity areas were generally lower than those in freshwater, but the opposite was true for DNRA. Overall, our study reported the simultaneous observation of nitrate dissimilatory reduction processes along the salinity gradient of the estuary and highlighted that changes in sediment environmental variables affected by human activities can alter the distribution patterns of NO₃⁻ reduction processes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Marine Nitrogen Cycle)

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10 pages, 1960 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spartina alterniflora Invasion Enhances Dissimilatory Nitrate Reduction to Ammonium (DNRA) Rates in the Yangtze River Estuary, China

by Niu Li, Ming Nie, Ming Wu and Jihua Wu

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(5), 655; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10050655 - 12 May 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1609

Abstract

Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) can save N by converting nitrate into ammonium and avoiding nitrate leaching and runoff in saltmarshes. However, little is known about the effects of invasive plants on DNRA in the upper and deeper soil layers in salt marshes. Here, we investigated DNRA rates in the soils of six different depth layers (0–5, 5–10, 10–20, 20–30, 30–50, and 50–100 cm) from the invasive Spartina alterniflora marshland, two native plants Scirpus mariqueter and Phragmites australis marshlands, and bare mudflat on Chongming Island, located in the Yangtze River Estuary, China. Our results show that S. alterniflora significantly increased DNRA rates in both the upper 50 cm soil and deeper 50–100 cm soil layers. With respect to the entire soil profile, the NO₃⁻ reduction content calculated from DNRA in S. alterniflora marshland was 502.84 g N m⁻² yr⁻¹, increased by 47.10%, 49.42%, and 38.57% compared to bare mudflat, S. mariquete, and P. australis, respectively. Moreover, NO₃⁻ reduction content from the 50–100 cm soil layers was almost identical to that in the upper 50 cm of the soil. In the month of May, DNRA is primarily regulated by SO₄²⁻ and pH in the upper and deeper soil layers, respectively, whereas, in the month of October, soil pH accounted for the most variables of DNRA in both the upper and deeper soil layers. Altogether, these results from a new perspective confirm that S. alterniflora invasion increases soil N pool and may further push its invasion in salt marshes, and the importance of deeper soil in nitrogen cycling cannot be ignored. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Marine Nitrogen Cycle)

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14 pages, 6041 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Metagenomic Insights into the Structure of Microbial Communities Involved in Nitrogen Cycling in Two Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture (IMTA) Ponds

by Qian Liu, Junnan Li, Hongwei Shan and Yicheng Xie

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(2), 171; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10020171 - 27 Jan 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2282

Abstract

The microbial structure and metabolic potential, particularly with regard to nitrogen (N) cycling, in integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) ponds with shrimp remain unclear. In this study, an analysis of microbial community taxonomic diversity and a metagenomic analysis of N-related genes were performed in a shrimp-crab pond (Penaeus japonicus-Portunus trituberculatus, SC) and a shrimp-crab-clam pond (P. japonicus-P. trituberculatus-Sinonovacula constricta, SCC) to evaluate microbial structure and N transformation capacities in these two shrimp IMTA ponds. The composition of the microbial communities was similar between SC and SCC, but the water and sediments shared few common members in either pond. The relative abundances of N cycling genes were significantly higher in sediment than in water in both SC and SCC, except for assimilatory nitrate reduction genes. The main drivers of the differences in the relative abundances of N cycling genes in SC and SCC were salinity and pH in water and the NO₂⁻ and NH₄⁺ contents of pore water in sediment. These results indicate that the coculture of S. constricta in a shrimp-crab pond may result in decreased N cycling in sediment. The reduced N flux in the shrimp IMTA ponds primarily originates within the sediment, except for assimilatory nitrate reduction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Marine Nitrogen Cycle)

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Review

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8 pages, 547 KiB

Open AccessReview

Nitrous Oxide from Abiotic Processes of Hydroxylamine and Nitrite in Estuarine and Coastal Ecosystems: A Review

by Chaobin Xu, Mengting Qi, Weisheng Lin and Xiaofei Li

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(5), 623; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10050623 - 2 May 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1884

Abstract

Abiotic processes of nitrogen (N) are suggested to contribute to nitrous oxide (N₂O) production; however, the important role of these processes in N₂O emissions is invariably ignored. This review synthesized the main abiotic processes of hydroxylamine and nitrite and associated biogeochemical controls in estuarine and coastal ecosystems. Abiotic processes of hydroxylamine and nitrite are availably detected in estuarine and coastal environments. The abiotic processes of hydroxylamine contribute more to N₂O production than the abiotic processes of nitrite in estuarine and coastal environments, suggesting that hydroxylamine plays an important role in N₂O production. The isotopic fractionation effects of N can occur during the abiotic processes of hydroxylamine and nitrite and are enriched with the increasing rates of N reactions. In addition, abiotic processes of hydroxylamine and nitrite are highly dependent on pH, oxygen, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, and Mn⁴⁺ and are also triggered by the increasing substrate contents. These results suggest that abiotic processes of hydroxylamine and nitrite have been greatly concerned for the estuarine and coastal environments, whereas the dynamics of these processes are still sparse for projecting N fates and dynamics in response to environmental factors changes. This review highlights the importance of abiotic processes of N and associated environmental implications and presents the future trend of N cycling in estuarine and coastal environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Marine Nitrogen Cycle)

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