Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41944213›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental science & technology2026

Nonpyrogenic "Black" Nitrogen Likely Plays a Major Yet Underrecognized Role in the Global Nitrogen Cycle.

João Vitor Dos Santos, Aleksandar I Goranov, Kyle M Lambert, Theodoro da Rosa Salles, Susan J Carter, Ann Pearson, Patrick G Hatcher

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental science & technology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

João Vitor Dos SantosDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-6954-4810
Aleksandar I GoranovDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-5103-0838
Kyle M LambertDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-8230-2840
Theodoro da Rosa SallesSchool of Technology, University of Campinas, Limeira, São Paulo 13484-332, Brazil.
Susan J CarterDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States.
Ann PearsonDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-2785-8405
Patrick G HatcherDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Condensed aromatic nitrogen (ConAN) is commonly found in soil and aquatic environments. ConAN is broadly viewed by the biogeochemistry community as a combustion-derived product leading to its frequent designation as pyrogenic "black" nitrogen. Here, we provide evidence that ConAN can also form through nonpyrogenic pathways. In an experiment simulating biomass oxidation, pine wood boards assembled with iron nails were exposed to 12 years of natural environmental conditions. Nitrogen concentrations increased from 0.2 to 1.2 wt % with increasing proximity to the nail. Ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry showed enrichment of nitrogen-containing compounds within the lignin and condensed aromatic domains. X-ray spectroscopic characterization revealed the development of C-N bonds and formation of pyridinic and pyrrolic nitrogen moieties. We propose plausible nonpyrogenic formation mechanisms for ConAN and perform back-of-the-envelope calculations suggesting that biomass oxidation yields a nonpyrogenic ConAN flux to soils of 3-63 Tg-N yr

Indexed as

NitrogenNitrogen CycleBiomassOxidation-ReductionSoilNitrogenSoilbiomass oxidationblack nitrogencondensed aromatic nitrogenFenton chemistrynitrogen incorporation

Identifiers

PMID41944213
PMCPMC13104175

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.