Nitrogen limiation and nitrogen fixation during alkane biodegradation in a sandy soil

Leaking underground storage tanks are a significant source of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in soils and ground water. Hydrocarbon biodegradation studies have been conducted in both ground water and topsoil regions, but few studies have been done on the unsaturated zone between these two. This study examines the effects of Nitrogen on propane and butane biodegradiations in an unsaturated sandy soil. Results indicate that nitrogen additions initially stimulated both propane and butane oxidizing organisms in the soil, but that propane-amended soil became N limited whereas butane-amended soil eventually overcame its N limitations by fixing Nitrogen and that nitrogen fixing organisms grew in butane amended but not in propane amended soil. 27 refs., 6 figs.