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Biological and chemical nitrification inhibitors exhibited different effects on soil gross N nitrification rate and N2O production: a 15N microcosm study

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Abstract

Nitrification inhibitors (NIs) are considered as an effective strategy for reducing nitrification rate and related environmental nitrogen (N) loss. However, whether plant-derived biological NIs had an advantage over chemical NIs in simultaneously inhibiting nitrification rate and N2O production remains unclear. Here, we conducted an aerobic 15N microcosmic incubation experiment to compare the effects of a biological NI (methyl 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate, MHPP) with three chemical NIs, 2-chloro-6-(trichloromethyl) pyridine (nitrapyrin), dicyandiamide (DCD), and 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) on (i) gross N mineralization and nitrification rate and (ii) the relative importance of nitrification and denitrification in N2O emission in a calcareous soil. The results showed that DMPP significantly inhibited m_gross rate (P < 0.05), whereas DCD, nitrapyrin, and MHPP only numerically inhibited it. Gross N nitrification (n_gross) rates were inhibited by 9.48% in the DCD treatment to 51.5% in the nitrapyrin treatment. Chemical NIs primarily affected the amoA gene abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), whereas biological NIs affected the amoA gene abundance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and AOB. AOB’s community composition was more susceptible to NIs than AOA, and NIs mainly targeted Nitrosospira clusters of AOB. Chemical NIs of DCD, DMPP, and nitrapyrin proportionally reduced N2O production from nitrification and denitrification. However, the biological NI MHPP stimulated short-term N2O emission and increased the proportion of N2O from denitrification. Our findings showed that the influence of NIs on gross N mineralization rate (m_gross) was dependent on the NI type. MHPP exhibited a moderate n_gross inhibitory capacity compared with the three chemical NIs. The mechanisms of chemical and biological NIs inhibiting n_gross can be partly attributed to changes in the abundance and community of ammonia oxidizers. A more comprehensive evaluation is needed to determine whether biological NIs have advantages over chemical NIs in inhibiting greenhouse gas emissions.

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The datasets generated by the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers U22A20562 and 42077096).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resources, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China

    Ting Lan, Xiaofeng Chen, Shuang Liu & Xuesong Gao

  2. Key Laboratory of Investigation and Monitoring, Protection and Utilization for Cultivated Land Resources, Ministry of Natural Resources, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China

    Ting Lan, Xiaofeng Chen, Shuang Liu & Xuesong Gao

  3. Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China

    Minghua Zhou

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T.L.: conceptualization, guidance, methodology, writing, and funding acquisition. X.C. and S.L.: performing experiment, data curation, and software. M.Z. and X.G.: review and editing.

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Lan, T., Chen, X., Liu, S. et al. Biological and chemical nitrification inhibitors exhibited different effects on soil gross N nitrification rate and N2O production: a 15N microcosm study. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 116162–116174 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30638-x

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