Nitrification Inhibitors Have Minimal Impact on Microbial and Collembola Communities in Danish Arable Soil
(2024) In Student thesis series INES NGEM01 20241Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
- Abstract
- Nitrification Inhibitors Have Minimal Impact on Microbial and Collembola Communities in Danish Arable Soil
This study aimed to investigate the targeted and non-target impacts of nitrification inhibitors (NIs) on the soil microbial and collembola communities in arable soils under a spring barley cultivation system. By assessing soils where inhibitors were repeatedly applied alongside fertilizers, we evaluated the short-term effects of NI use on soil biodiversity and function composition using a combination of microscopic identification, quantitative PCR (qPCR) and amplicon sequencing. Our results revealed that neither ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms nor non-target bacterial and fungal communities, as well as collembola, were not... (More) - Nitrification Inhibitors Have Minimal Impact on Microbial and Collembola Communities in Danish Arable Soil
This study aimed to investigate the targeted and non-target impacts of nitrification inhibitors (NIs) on the soil microbial and collembola communities in arable soils under a spring barley cultivation system. By assessing soils where inhibitors were repeatedly applied alongside fertilizers, we evaluated the short-term effects of NI use on soil biodiversity and function composition using a combination of microscopic identification, quantitative PCR (qPCR) and amplicon sequencing. Our results revealed that neither ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms nor non-target bacterial and fungal communities, as well as collembola, were not significantly affected by short-term NI application, even at tenfold dosages than recommended. However, the choice of fertilizer—organic or chemical—had significant effects on microbial and collembola communities. The neutral community model (NCM) analysis indicated that bacterial communities under chemical fertilizer treatments and fungal communities under organic treatments were primarily governed by stochastic processes, highlighting the resilience and functional redundancy of these communities. Despite the limited direct impact of NIs, high concentrations of organic matter correlated significantly with microbial community structures under high NI conditions, underscoring the buffering role of organic matter. These findings suggest that while fertilizer type plays a crucial role in shaping soil ecology, NIs have minimal impact on both targeted and non-targeted groups in the short term. Future research should focus on the role of complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox) to gain a more comprehensive understanding of nitrogen cycling dynamics in these systems. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- Nitrification Inhibitors are not working or harming in Denmark
Nitrogen fertilizers are widely used in modern agriculture. However, the extra nitrogen can leach out and cause a few environmental problems. To slow down this process, nitrification inhibitors are used, but we are not sure if they are effective enough or harmful to soil microbes.
In this study, soil fungi, bacteria and springtails (some very tiny bugs living in the soil) were monitored by molecular methods. We didn’t culture them in the lab or count them under the microscope. Instead, we tried to catch their leftovers in the soil and put those left fragments together to reconstruct such community. The change in their abundance and composition can reflect the influence by... (More) - Nitrification Inhibitors are not working or harming in Denmark
Nitrogen fertilizers are widely used in modern agriculture. However, the extra nitrogen can leach out and cause a few environmental problems. To slow down this process, nitrification inhibitors are used, but we are not sure if they are effective enough or harmful to soil microbes.
In this study, soil fungi, bacteria and springtails (some very tiny bugs living in the soil) were monitored by molecular methods. We didn’t culture them in the lab or count them under the microscope. Instead, we tried to catch their leftovers in the soil and put those left fragments together to reconstruct such community. The change in their abundance and composition can reflect the influence by nitrification inhibitor. We put different nitrification inhibitors in a few experiment fields planted with barley, and later we extracted the fragments directly from the soil.
In our result, surprisingly, nitrification inhibitors seem not get their job done, as they did not reduce the number of those bacteria which can slow down the nitrification process. On the other hand, they are not harmful for soil microbes and springtails at all, even at 10 times higher dosages. The only difference is between the usage of chemical fertilizer or organic fertilizer, rather than with or without nitrification inhibitors.
Since they can be sold at a good price, we should be cautious when purchasing nitrification inhibitors for agricultural practice, at least in Denmark. Otherwise, there can be some recently discovered “hidden nitrification microbes” that were not detected by our approach. Future study can have a look at this particular bacteria, the commamox.
In conclusion, we used some molecular methods to look at the microbes and tiny bugs directly from the soil. We found nitrification inhibitors are neither doing the job nor harmful to the soil organisms. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9170926
- author
- Pan, Yuan LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- NGEM01 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Nitrification Inhibitor, metabarcoding, soil microbiology, qPCR, environmental DNA
- publication/series
- Student thesis series INES
- report number
- 676
- language
- English
- additional info
- External supervisors: Rumakanta Sapkota, Aarhus University and Anne Winding, Aarhus University
- id
- 9170926
- date added to LUP
- 2024-07-27 20:13:53
- date last changed
- 2024-07-27 20:13:53
@misc{9170926,
abstract = {{Nitrification Inhibitors Have Minimal Impact on Microbial and Collembola Communities in Danish Arable Soil
This study aimed to investigate the targeted and non-target impacts of nitrification inhibitors (NIs) on the soil microbial and collembola communities in arable soils under a spring barley cultivation system. By assessing soils where inhibitors were repeatedly applied alongside fertilizers, we evaluated the short-term effects of NI use on soil biodiversity and function composition using a combination of microscopic identification, quantitative PCR (qPCR) and amplicon sequencing. Our results revealed that neither ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms nor non-target bacterial and fungal communities, as well as collembola, were not significantly affected by short-term NI application, even at tenfold dosages than recommended. However, the choice of fertilizer—organic or chemical—had significant effects on microbial and collembola communities. The neutral community model (NCM) analysis indicated that bacterial communities under chemical fertilizer treatments and fungal communities under organic treatments were primarily governed by stochastic processes, highlighting the resilience and functional redundancy of these communities. Despite the limited direct impact of NIs, high concentrations of organic matter correlated significantly with microbial community structures under high NI conditions, underscoring the buffering role of organic matter. These findings suggest that while fertilizer type plays a crucial role in shaping soil ecology, NIs have minimal impact on both targeted and non-targeted groups in the short term. Future research should focus on the role of complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox) to gain a more comprehensive understanding of nitrogen cycling dynamics in these systems.}},
author = {{Pan, Yuan}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{Student thesis series INES}},
title = {{Nitrification Inhibitors Have Minimal Impact on Microbial and Collembola Communities in Danish Arable Soil}},
year = {{2024}},
}