Accelerating the development of biological nitrification inhibition as a viable nitrous oxide mitigation strategy in grazed livestock systems

Cecile A. M. de Klein*, Saman Bowatte, Priscila Simon, Jacobo Arango, Laura M. Cárdenas, D Chadwick, Jeroen Pijlman, RM Rees, Karl G Richards, Guntur Subbarao, David Whitehead

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    9 Citations (Scopus)
    117 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    This position paper summarizes the current understanding of biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) to identify research needs for accelerating the development of BNI as a N2O mitigation strategy for grazed livestock systems. We propose that the initial research focus should be on the systematic screening of agronomically desirable plants for their BNI potency and N2O reduction potential. This requires the development of in-situ screening methods that can be combined with reliable N2O emission measurements and microbial and metabolomic analyses to confirm the selective inhibition of nitrification. As BNI-induced reductions in N2O emissions can occur by directly inhibiting nitrification, or via indirect effects on other N transformations, it is also important to measure gross N transformation rates to disentangle these direct and indirect effects. However, an equally important challenge will be to discern the apparent influence of soil N fertility status on the release of BNIs, particularly for more intensively managed grazing systems.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)235-240
    Number of pages6
    JournalBiology and Fertility of Soils
    Volume58
    Early online date18 Mar 2022
    DOIs
    Publication statusPrint publication - Apr 2022

    Keywords

    • nitrification inhibitor
    • nitrous oxide
    • nitrogen
    • Mitigation
    • Research priorities
    • Animal urine
    • Nitrous oxide
    • BNI
    • Livestock systems

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Accelerating the development of biological nitrification inhibition as a viable nitrous oxide mitigation strategy in grazed livestock systems'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this