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Nitrification inhibitors, originally proposed for nitrate leaching mitigation, are recommended as effective nitrous oxide (N 2 O) mitigation strategies. Several compounds have been trialled and used in the past including dicyandiamide (DCD) or 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP). Yet, little is known about the new nitrification inhibitor 2-(3,4-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl) succinic acid isomeric mixture (DMPSA). A field experiment using 15 N single-labelled ammonium nitrate ( 15 NH 4 NO 3 or NH 4 15 NO 3 ) was conducted to understand the effectiveness of DMPSA on a biochemical basis in an irrigated maize ( Zea mays L.) crop. Gaseous fluxes, i.e. N 2 O, 15 N 2 O, 15 N 2 , methane (CH 4 ), and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) were measured, as well as soil mineral N, yield components and 15 N recovery in plant and soil. During the maize cropping period, the use of DMPSA significantly reduced cumulative N 2 O emissions (118 g N ha −1 ) compared to ammonium nitrate without inhibitor (231 g N ha −1 ). The 15 N analyses revealed that most N 2 O losses (particularly during the emission peak) came from 15 NH 4 NO 3 (i.e. nitrification, nitrifier denitrification and/or coupled nitrification denitrification) rather than NH 4 15 NO 3 in this calcareous low C-content soil. As expected, DMPSA decreased N 2 O losses from 15 NH 4 + oxidation, but an effect on non-target microorganisms was noticed, as shown by the significant reduction of respiration rates and N 2 O losses coming from 15 NO 3 − . No significant effect of DMPSA on CH 4 oxidation or 15 N 2 fluxes was observed. The DMPSA did not lead to a significant improvement of the dry weights of grain or biomass, although an increment of root biomass by 64% was found. This compound also tended to increase plant N recovery (average 67.8%) and to decrease soil N recovery (average 18.3%) but differences were not statistically significant. Conversely, the nitrification inhibitor significantly reduced the residual fertilizer-N in the 15–30 cm and 30–45 cm soil layers. The use of DMPSA was confirmed as a highly effective tool to reduce N 2 O emissions from irrigated crops in semi-arid areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural soils are a major source of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O), which are produced and consumed by biotic and abiotic soil processes. The dominant sources of NO and N 2 O are microbial nitrification and denitrification. While N 2 O emissions have been attributed to both processes, depending on the environmental conditions such as substrate availability, pH and water filled pore space (WFPS), NO emissions are thought to predominantly derive from nitrification. Although attributing gaseous emissions to specific processes is still difficult, recent findings challenge the latter of those assumptions. Using the gas-flow-soil-core method, i.e soil cores incubated under a He/O 2 atmosphere at constant surface gas flow, combined with 15 N labelled isotopic techniques, the present study investigated the role of denitrification on NO, N 2 O and N 2 emissions in a UK grassland soil under high soil moisture and an aerobic headspace atmosphere. With the application of KNO3 and glucose to support denitrification, denitrification was the source of N loss of between 0.61 and 0.67% of the added N via NO emissions, 1.60–1.68% via N 2 O and 0.03–0.05% via N 2 emissions. Overall, our study showed that denitrification has been overlooked as a source of NO emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]