Simultaneous Production and Consumption of Soil N 2 O Creates Complex Effects on Its Stable Isotope Composition

The stable N and O isotope composition of soil and soil‐respired N 2 O is increasingly measured, yet a solid theoretical framework for interpreting the data remains to be developed. Here, the physical processes that affect soil N 2 O and its isotopes are embedded in a diffusion/reaction model. Numerical experiments are compared to data to demonstrate how various soil processes influence depth profiles and surface fluxes of soil N 2 O, δ 15 N N2O , and δ 18 O N2O . Model predictions and data suggest that the isotope composition of the net N 2 O soil flux, in soils that have N 2 O consumption, is a function of the net flux rate, and the isotope differences between the atmosphere and the biological source. Asymptotically large negative or positive δ 15 N flux and δ 18 O flux values occur as the net soil N 2 O flux approaches zero from positive or negative flux rates, respectively. This implies that the isotopic imprint of soil fluxes on the global atmospheric N 2 O pool is more variable than previously suggested. Additionally, the observed isotope values in static flux chambers are possibly complicated by the fact that consumption fluxes increase as the concentration in the chambers increases. This work reveals that even simple chamber flux measurements may possess isotope effects imparted by consumption during the chamber measurement and suggests ways to experimentally test this possibility. Additionally, simple methods to estimate depth‐dependent net production/consumption and its isotope effects are suggested. However, understanding the gross rates of the production and consumption of soil N 2 O remains an elusive goal. Soils are one of the largest global emitters of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N 2 O). Yet, unlike greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, the emission patterns bear weak linkages to climatic patterns. One reason for this may be that the N 2 O that finally escapes soil is the residue of much larger rates of microbial production that are counterbalanced by large rates of consumption. Here, we use hundreds of previously published data on the concentration and stable nitrogen and oxygen isotope ratio of N 2 O and re‐interpret them through a physics‐based model. We find unexpected evidence that the isotope composition of the emitted N 2 O, which is sometimes used as a signal to estimate the total global soil emission rate, is a complex function of the balance between production and consumption, and the net flux rates. A better understanding