TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of nitrapyrin on urea-based fertilizers in a Mediterranean calcareous soil
T2 - Nitrogen and microbial dynamics
AU - Giannopoulos, Georgios
AU - Elsgaard, Lars
AU - Tzanakakis, Vasileios A.
AU - Franklin, Rima B.
AU - Brown, Bonnie L.
AU - Zanakis, Georgios
AU - Monokrousos, Nikolaos
AU - Anastopoulos, Ioannis
AU - Awad, Murad
AU - Ipsilantis, Ioannis
AU - Barbayiannis, Nikolaos
AU - Polidoros, Alexios N.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). European Journal of Soil Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Society of Soil Science.
PY - 2024/7
Y1 - 2024/7
N2 - Nitrification inhibitors, such as nitrapyrin (NI), are increasingly co-applied with nitrogen (N) fertilizers as part of sustainable agricultural practice. Several studies in temperate regions have documented the effectiveness of NI in retaining soil ammonium (NH4+), minimizing N loss and increasing crop yields. However, less is known about the effects of NI in Mediterranean regions, where agricultural production is challenging and requires intensive irrigation and fertilization. We investigated the short-term impact of the nitrification inhibitor nitrapyrin (2-chloro-6-(trichloromethyl)pyridine) in a two-factor mesocosm experiment, using a typical Mediterranean soil, where NI was co-applied with a selection of urea-based fertilizers: urea (U), U with urease inhibitors (U + UI), methylene urea (MU) and zeolite-coated urea (ZU). NI co-applied with urea fertilizers resulted in higher availability of soil NH4+ and a concurrent increase in NH3 volatilization. Net cumulative soil NH4+ availability was 1.5–3.3 fold greater when NI was applied. Concurrently, net cumulative nitrate (NO3−) and nitrite (NO2−) availability was reduced by 10%–60%; this was found for all the tested fertilizer types except MU fertilizer, where the net cumulative soil NO3− and NO2− doubled. Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from urea fertilization were reduced by 40% with UI, 50% with NI and 66% with NI + UI. Interestingly, after 28 d, the composition of soil microbial communities was distinctly different, due to NI application. Specifically, NI application dramatically reduced the abundance of ammonia-oxidizing and denitrifying bacterial functional groups. NI was effective in reducing N2O emissions in this calcareous soil; however, NH3 emissions were remarkably enhanced. These findings have important implications for the large-scale adoption of inhibitor technologies in Mediterranean agroecosystems and for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
AB - Nitrification inhibitors, such as nitrapyrin (NI), are increasingly co-applied with nitrogen (N) fertilizers as part of sustainable agricultural practice. Several studies in temperate regions have documented the effectiveness of NI in retaining soil ammonium (NH4+), minimizing N loss and increasing crop yields. However, less is known about the effects of NI in Mediterranean regions, where agricultural production is challenging and requires intensive irrigation and fertilization. We investigated the short-term impact of the nitrification inhibitor nitrapyrin (2-chloro-6-(trichloromethyl)pyridine) in a two-factor mesocosm experiment, using a typical Mediterranean soil, where NI was co-applied with a selection of urea-based fertilizers: urea (U), U with urease inhibitors (U + UI), methylene urea (MU) and zeolite-coated urea (ZU). NI co-applied with urea fertilizers resulted in higher availability of soil NH4+ and a concurrent increase in NH3 volatilization. Net cumulative soil NH4+ availability was 1.5–3.3 fold greater when NI was applied. Concurrently, net cumulative nitrate (NO3−) and nitrite (NO2−) availability was reduced by 10%–60%; this was found for all the tested fertilizer types except MU fertilizer, where the net cumulative soil NO3− and NO2− doubled. Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from urea fertilization were reduced by 40% with UI, 50% with NI and 66% with NI + UI. Interestingly, after 28 d, the composition of soil microbial communities was distinctly different, due to NI application. Specifically, NI application dramatically reduced the abundance of ammonia-oxidizing and denitrifying bacterial functional groups. NI was effective in reducing N2O emissions in this calcareous soil; however, NH3 emissions were remarkably enhanced. These findings have important implications for the large-scale adoption of inhibitor technologies in Mediterranean agroecosystems and for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
KW - calcareous soil
KW - methylene-urea
KW - microbes
KW - nitrapyrin
KW - nitrification inhibitor
KW - nitrous oxide
KW - soil nitrogen
KW - urea
KW - urease inhibitor
KW - zeolite
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85201548832&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/ejss.13553
DO - 10.1111/ejss.13553
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85201548832
SN - 1351-0754
VL - 75
JO - European Journal of Soil Science
JF - European Journal of Soil Science
IS - 4
M1 - e13553
ER -