THE DISTRIBUTION AND FUNCTION OF DENITRIFICATION GENES: EXPLORING AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT AND SOIL CHEMICAL IMPLICATIONS

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dc.contributor.advisorYarwood, Stephanie Aen_US
dc.contributor.authorBowen, Hollyen_US
dc.contributor.departmentEnvironmental Science and Technologyen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2016-06-22T06:16:01Z
dc.date.available2016-06-22T06:16:01Z
dc.date.issued2016en_US
dc.description.abstractDenitrification is a microbially-mediated process that converts nitrate (NO3-) to dinitrogen (N2) gas and has implications for soil fertility, climate change, and water quality. Using PCR, qPCR, and T-RFLP, the effects of environmental drivers and land management on the abundance and composition of functional genes were investigated. Environmental variables affecting gene abundance were soil type, soil depth, nitrogen concentrations, soil moisture, and pH, although each gene was unique in its spatial distribution and controlling factors. The inclusion of microbial variables, specifically genotype and gene abundance, improved denitrification models and highlights the benefit of including microbial data in modeling denitrification. Along with some evidence of niche selection, I show that nirS is a good predictor of denitrification enzyme activity (DEA) and N2O:N2 ratio, especially in alkaline and wetland soils. nirK was correlated to N2O production and became a stronger predictor of DEA in acidic soils, indicating that nirK and nirS are not ecologically redundant.en_US
dc.identifierhttps://doi.org/10.13016/M2N48Z
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/18395
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledMicrobiologyen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledSoil sciencesen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledEnvironmental scienceen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledagricultral managementen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolleddenitrificationen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledmodelsen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrollednirKen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrollednirSen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrollednosZen_US
dc.titleTHE DISTRIBUTION AND FUNCTION OF DENITRIFICATION GENES: EXPLORING AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT AND SOIL CHEMICAL IMPLICATIONSen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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