Nitrification activity in tropical rain forest soils of the Coastal Lowlands and Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia

Intact soil cores from a montane tropical rain forest site in the Atherton Tablelands (Kauri Creek) and from a lowland tropical rain forest site in the Coastal Lowlands (Bellenden Ker), Queensland, Australia were investigated during different hygric seasons for the magnitude of gross nitrification rates using the Barometric Process Separation technique (BaPS). Pronounced seasonal variations of gross nitrification rates were found at both sites with highest values during the transition period between dry and wet season (montane site: 24.0 mg N (kg SDW)^—1 d^—1; lowland site: 13.1 mg N (kg SDW)^—1 d^—1) and significantly lower rates of gross nitrification during the dry and wet season. Rates of gross nitrification were always higher at the montane site than at the lowland site, but the opposite was found for N2O emissions. The results indicated that the high losses of N2O at the lowland tropical rain forest site may be contributed largely by high denitrification activity due to its wetter and warmer climate as compared to the dryer and colder climate at the montane tropical rain forest site. This conclusion was supported by analysis of cell numbers of microbes involved in N-cycling. Higher numbers of denitrifiers were present at the lowland site, whereas higher numbers of nitrifiers were found at the montane site.