Publication Date:
2017-05-12
Description:
A new continuous integrated-cavity output spectroscopy analyzer and an automated soil chamber system were used to investigate the exchange processes of carbonyl sulfide (OCS) between soils and the atmosphere under laboratory conditions. The exchange patterns of OCS between soils and the atmosphere were found to be highly dependent on soil moisture and ambient CO 2 concentration. With increasing soil moisture, OCS exchange ranged from emission under dry conditions to an uptake within an optimum moisture range, followed again by emission at high soil moisture. Elevated CO 2 was found to have a significant impact on the exchange rate and direction as tested with several soils. There is a clear tendency towards a release of OCS at higher CO 2 levels (up to 7600 ppm), which are typical for the upper few centimeters within soils. At high soil moisture the release of OCS increased sharply. Measurements after chloroform vapor application show that there is a biotic component to the observed OCS exchange. Furthermore, soil treatment with the fungi inhibitor nystatin showed that fungi might be the dominant OCS consumers in the soils we examined. We discuss the influence of soil moisture and elevated CO 2 on the OCS exchange as a change in the activity of microbial communities. Physical factors such as diffusivity that are governed by soil moisture also play a role. Comparing K M values of the enzymes to projected soil water CO 2 concentrations showed that competitive inhibition is unlikely for Carbonic Anhydrase and PEPCO, but might occur for RubisCO at higher CO 2 concentrations.
Print ISSN:
0148-0227
Topics:
Biology
,
Geosciences
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