The contributions of hydroxylamine and nitrite to NO and N2O production in alkaline and acidic vegetable soils

Purpose The contribution of hydroxylamine (NH 2 OH) and nitrite (NO 2 − ) to nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) production remains unclear in vegetable production soils. Materials and methods Soils collected from six typical greenhouse vegetable fields were incubated for 48 h following amendment with 1 mM NaNO 2 , 10 μM NH 2 OH, or 1 mM NaNO 2 + 10 μM NH 2 OH. The importance of abiotic processes on the NO and N 2 O formation from the NH 2 OH and NO 2 − were studied by irradiating the soil samples with γ-irradiation. Results and discussion NO 2 − amendment significantly stimulated NO production, while the NH 2 OH-dependent NO production was minimal. NH 2 OH stimulated more abiotic N 2 O production in alkaline soils than in acidic soils ( p