N-cycling functional genes and soil properties shape the heterogeneity of nitrous oxide emission pathways in tea plantation soils

Tea ( Camellia sinensis ), one of the world’s most popular beverages, plays a vital role in socio-economic development. However, nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions from tea plantation soils have become a serious environmental issue, largely due to soil acidification and excessive N fertilizer inputs. Despite this, there is still a knowledge gap in determining how much nitrification and denitrification contribute to overall N 2 O emissions in tea plantation soils, which makes it difficult to make focused mitigation strategies. Here, we utilized 15 N isotope labeling experiments to probe into the contribution of various microbial pathways to N 2 O emissions of tea plantation soils across seven major tea-producing provinces in China. We assessed soil properties, microbial diversity and composition, N 2 O production-and-reduction-related functional gene abundances, and keystone species abundances to probe into driving mechanisms influencing N 2 O sources. The results revealed significant heterogeneity of N 2 O emission intensity and pathways among different tea plantation soils. Co-denitrification and heterotrophic nitrification emerged as the primary contributors of N 2 O emissions, accounting for an average of 34% and 41%, respectively. However, the mean contributions of denitrification and autotrophic nitrification were only 22% and 3%, respectively. Variance partitioning and correlation analyses indicated that this heterogeneity was predominantly driven by N-cycling gene abundances and soil properties (both contributed 71% of the explanation) rather than microbial diversity and keystone species abundance. This study advances our understanding of the soil N-cycling process in acidic soils and provides a groundwork for formulating targeted measures to reduce N 2 O emissions based on the dominant pathways in tea plantation soils. • N 2 O emission pathways show heterogeneous across large-scale tea plantation soils • Co-denitrification is the main N₂O contributor in Zhejiang, Henan, and Anhui Provinces • Heterotrophic nitrification pathway dominates N 2 O emissions in the remaining Provinces • Functional genes and soil properties explain the heterogeneity of pathways by 71%