Effects of the nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate on nitrification and nitrifiers in two contrasting agricultural soils

Abstract

The nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) is a powerful tool that can be used to promote nitrogen (N) use efficiency and reduce N losses from agricultural systems by slowing nitrification. Mounting evidence has confirmed the functional importance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in nitrification and N2O production; however, their responses to DMPP amendment and the microbial mechanisms underlying the variable efficiencies of DMPP across different soils remain largely unknown. Here we compared the impacts of DMPP on nitrification and the dynamics of ammonia oxidizers between an acidic pasture soil and an alkaline vegetable soil using a 15N tracing and 13CO2-DNA-stableisotope probing (SIP) technique. The results showed that DMPP significantly inhibited nitrification and N2O production in the vegetable soil only, and the transient inhibition was coupled with a significant decrease in AOB abundance. No significant effects on the community structure of ammonia oxidizers or the abundances of total bacteria and denitrifiers were observed in either soil. The 15N tracing experiment revealed that autotrophic nitrification was the predominant form of nitrification in both soils. The 13CO2-DNA-SIP results indicated the involvement of AOB in active nitrification in both soils, but DMPP inhibited the assimilation of 13CO2 into AOB only in the vegetable soil. Our findings provide evidence that DMPP could effectively inhibit nitrification through impeding the abundance and metabolic activity of AOB in the alkaline vegetable soil but not in the acidic pasture soil, possibly due to the low AOB abundance or the adsorption of DMPP by organic matter.