Spatial and temporal dynamics of nitrogen fixing, nitrifying and denitrifying microbes in an unfertilized grassland soil

The microbial groups of nitrogen fixers, ammonia oxidizers, and denitrifiers largely drive the inorganic nitrogen cycle in temperate terrestrial ecosystems. Their spatial and temporal dynamics, however, vary depending on the studied scale. The present study aimed to fill a knowledge gap by providing an explicit picture of spatial and temporal dynamics of a subset of these soil microorganisms at the plot scale. We selected an unfertilized...