{
  "abstract": "Drought-rewetting cycles (DWC) in soil are accompanied by a rapid burst of nitrous oxide (N2O) emission within minutes without reactivation of dormant microbes. Here we present a manifold of evidence for a previously unrecognized abiotic mechanism connecting soil ammonium (NH4+) to N2O with hydroxylamine (NH2OH) as a key intermediate. DWC experiments in the Negev Desert soil revealed comparable short N2O pulses in both live and radiation-sterilised soils. N2O emission increased in a dose-dependent manner following NH2OH addition, underscoring NH2OH availability as a key factor of the observed N2O spikes. Finally, isotope labelling experiments showed that NH4+ directly contributes to N2O emission even in sterilised soil. This pathway is likely facilitated by the extracellular ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) – the only known catalyser of NH4+-NH2OH conversion in soil. Our finding of an additional source of atmospheric N2O extend beyond drylands since abiotic processes and DWC are projected to intensify globally including temperate ecosystems.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 12,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Alexander Zherebker"
    },
    {
      "name": "Edwige Demangeat"
    },
    {
      "name": "Isaac Yagle"
    },
    {
      "name": "Mathieu Pédrot"
    },
    {
      "name": "Michael Dannenmann"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nolenn Kermeur"
    },
    {
      "name": "Rémi Marsac"
    },
    {
      "name": "Laura Fablet"
    },
    {
      "name": "Francisco Cabello-Hurtado"
    },
    {
      "name": "Clemens Scheer"
    },
    {
      "name": "Vasily I. Grabovskiy"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ilya Gelfand"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7weaqrx924y02.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.31223/x5xj7z",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "7weaqrx924y02",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/15338/",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "bepress",
      "Abiotic nitrous oxide"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Physical Sciences and Mathematics"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Soil rewetting"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "ammonium oxidation"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "isotope tracing"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1111|Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7215792028",
  "pdf_url": "https://eartharxiv.org/repository/object/15338/download/26591/",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-02",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7weaqrx924y02.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:42Z",
      "native_id": "15338",
      "source": "eartharxiv",
      "url": "https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/15338/"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "openalex:1111|Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics",
      "subfield": "hydrology-soils"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Novel Mechanism of Abiotic Ammonium Oxidation Triggers Nitrous Oxide Bursts Upon Soil Rewetting",
  "title_text": "Novel Mechanism of Abiotic Ammonium Oxidation Triggers Nitrous Oxide Bursts Upon Soil Rewetting",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:42Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7weaqrx924y02",
  "venue": "EarthArXiv",
  "versions": []
}