David D. Myrold Mary Firestone Mary Voytek Matthew D. Wallenstein 2006 <p><span>The advent of molecular techniques has improved our understanding of the microbial communities responsible for denitrification and is beginning to address their role in controlling denitrification processes. There is a large diversity of bacteria, archaea, and fungi capable of denitrification, and their community composition is structured by long-term environmental drivers. The range of temperature and moisture conditions, substrate availability, competition, and disturbances have long-lasting legacies on denitrifier community structure. These communities may differ in physiology, environmental tolerances to pH and O</span>₂<span>, growth rate, and enzyme kinetics. Although factors such as O</span>₂<span>, pH, C availability, and NO</span>₃⁻<span> pools affect instantaneous rates, these drivers act through the biotic community. This review summarizes the results of molecular investigations of denitrifier communities in natural environments and provides a framework for developing future research for addressing connections between denitrifier community structure and function.</span></p> application/pdf 10.1890/1051-0761(2006)016[2143:ECODCA]2.0.CO;2 en Wiley Environmental controls on denitrifying communities and denitrification rates: Insights from molecular methods article