Using nitrification inhibitors to mitigate agricultural N₂O emission: a double-edged sword?

详细信息    查看全文

• 作者：Shu Kee Lam ; Helen Suter ; Arvin R. Mosier and Deli Chen
• 刊名：Global Change Biology
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：February 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：23
• 期：2
• 页码：485-489
• 全文大小：68K
• ISSN：1365-2486

文摘

Nitrification inhibitors show promise in decreasing nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission from agricultural systems worldwide, but they may be much less effective than previously thought when both direct and indirect emissions are taken into account. Whilst nitrification inhibitors are effective at decreasing direct N₂O emission and nitrate (NO₃^–) leaching, limited studies suggest that they may increase ammonia (NH₃) volatilization and, subsequently, indirect N₂O emission. These dual effects are typically not considered when evaluating the inhibitors as a climate change mitigation tool. Here, we collate results from the literature that simultaneously examined the effects of nitrification inhibitors on N₂O and NH₃ emissions. We found that nitrification inhibitors decreased direct N₂O emission by 0.2–4.5 kg N₂O-N ha⁻¹ (8–57%), but generally increased NH₃ emission by 0.2–18.7 kg NH₃-N ha⁻¹ (3–65%). Taking into account the estimated indirect N₂O emission from deposited NH₃, the overall impact of nitrification inhibitors ranged from −4.5 (reduction) to +0.5 (increase) kg N₂O-N ha⁻¹. Our results suggest that the beneficial effect of nitrification inhibitors in decreasing direct N₂O emission can be undermined or even outweighed by an increase in NH₃ volatilization.