It is sometimes said that organisms in anaerobic environments will use the combined oxygen in nitrate or sulphate instead of the oxygen in O2. Why is this statement incorrect? What actually happens...

It is sometimes said that organisms in anaerobic environments will use the combined oxygen in nitrate or sulphate instead of the oxygen in O2. Why is this statement incorrect? What actually happens when organisms reduce sulphate or nitrate?

If an alluvial forest soil were flooded for 10 days and you sampled the gases evolving from the wet soil, what gases would you expect to find (other than oxygen and carbon dioxide)? In what order of appearance? Explain.