Algal and Plant Contribution to N₂O Emissions

Dear Colleagues,

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a greenhouse gas ~300-fold more potent than CO₂ and is considered the dominant ozone-depleting chemical emitted in the 21st century. Global human-induced N₂O emissions are dominated by nitrogen additions to crop plants. In modern agriculture, the abundant supply of nitrogen fertilizers leads to excess nitrogen in the soil, and non-assimilated nitrogen can be emitted as N₂O to the atmosphere or lost as runoffs into aquatic ecosystems causing their eutrophication. Nitrification and denitrification are two well-documented biochemical processes that control N₂O emissions in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and are regulated by biological and environmental factors.

 For decades, N₂O emission has been detected from lakes, coasts, and oceans, ecosystems where microalgae are mainly present, although the contribution of microalgae to these N₂O emissions has been mostly neglected and attributed to the prokaryotic organisms present in these environments. Recently, it was claimed that algae are also involved in denitrification, because of the production of nitric oxide, a signal molecule, which is also a substrate of NO reductases to produce N₂O.

Importantly, many microalgae are currently cultivated at a large scale for commercial and biotechnological purposes. Therefore, the potential contribution to N₂O emissions of these microalgae should be considered. Thus, understanding the molecular mechanisms associated with N₂O synthesis and their regulation under different environmental conditions is critical to assessing the actual contribution of plants and microalgae to atmospheric N₂O emissions.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to bring together high-quality research articles and reviews addressing recent developments in current relevant topics where the contributions of plants and algae to the N₂O atmospheric budget are considered.

Prof. Dr. Angel Llamas
Guest Editor

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• N₂O emissions
• greenhouse gas
• denitrification
• algae
• nitrogen fertilizers