Coupled nitrification and N₂ gas production as a cryptic process in oxic riverbeds

The coupling between nitrification and N₂ gas production to recycle ammonia back to the atmosphere is a key step in the nitrogen cycle that has been researched widely. An assumption for such research is that the products of nitrification (nitrite or nitrate) mix freely in the environment before reduction to N₂ gas. Here we show, in oxic riverbeds, that the pattern of N₂ gas production from ammonia deviates by ~3- to 16-fold from that predicted for denitrification or anammox involving nitrite or nitrate as free porewater intermediates. Rather, the patterns match that for a coupling through a cryptic pool, isolated from the porewater. A cryptic pool challenges our understanding of a key step in the nitrogen cycle and masks our ability to distinguish between sources of N₂ gas that 20 years’ research has sought to identify. Our reasoning suggests a new pathway or a new type of coupling between known pathways in the nitrogen cycle.