Decomposition of dicyandiamide (DCD) in three contrasting soils and its effect on nitrous oxide emission, soil respiratory activity, and microbial biomass—an incubation study
Jagrati Singh A B D , S. Saggar A , D. L. Giltrap A and Nanthi S. Bolan B CA Landcare Research, Private Bag 11052, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.
B Formerly at Institute of Natural Resources, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
C Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation (CERAR), University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: Singhj@landcareresearch.co.nz
Australian Journal of Soil Research 46(7) 517-525 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR07204
Submitted: 27 November 2007 Accepted: 19 May 2008 Published: 8 October 2008
Abstract
The objective of this work was to study the degradation kinetics of a nitrification inhibitor (NI), dicyandiamide (DCD), and evaluate its effectiveness in reducing nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions in different types of soils. Three soils contrasting in texture, mineralogy, and organic carbon (C) content were incubated alone (control) or with urine at 600 mg N/kg soil with 3 levels of DCD (0, 10, and 20 mg/kg). Emissions of N2O and carbon dioxide (CO2) were measured during the 58-day incubation. Simultaneously, subsamples were collected periodically from the incubating soils (40-day incubation) and the amounts of DCD, NH4+, and NO3− were determined. Our results showed that the half-life of DCD in these laboratory incubating soils at 25°C was 6–15 days and was longer at the higher rate of DCD application. Of the 3 soils studied, DCD degradation was fastest in the brown loam allophanic soil (Typic orthic allophanic) and slowest in the silt loam non-allophanic soil (Argillic-fragic Perch-gley Pallic). The differences in DCD degradation among these soils can be attributed to the differences in the adsorption of DCD and in the microbial activities of the soils. Among the 3 soils the highest reduction in N2O emissions with DCD from the urine application was measured in the non-allophanic silt loam soil followed by non-allophanic sandy loam soil and allophanic brown loam soil. There was no adverse impact of DCD application on soil respiratory activity or microbial biomass.
Additional keywords: allophane, carbon dioxide, clay content, half-life, nitrification, organic matter.
Acknowledgements
The senior author thanks Landcare Research for the Capability funding to undertake this study. Our thanks to Dr Des Ross for his valuable comments and Anne Austin for internal editing.
Amberger A
(1986) Potentials of nitrification inhibitors in modern N-fertilizer management. Zeitschrift Fur Pflanzenernahrung Und Bodenkunde 149, 469–484.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Amberger A
(1989) Research on dicyandiamide as a nitrification inhibitor and future outlook. Communications in Soil Science ad Plant Analysis 20, 1933–1955.
Amberger A, Vilsmeier K
(1979) Inhibition of the nitrification of liquid manure nitrogen by dicyandiamide. Zeitschrift Fur Acker Und Pflanzenbau – Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science 148, 239–246.
Bolan NS,
Adriano DC,
Mani P,
Duraisamy A, Arulmozhiselvan S
(2003) Immobilization and phytoavailability of cadmium in variable charge soils. I. Effect of phosphate addition. Plant and Soil 250, 83–94.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Bouyoucos GJ
(1962) Hydrometer method improved for making particle size analysis of soils. Agronomy Journal 54, 464–465.
Bronson KF,
Touchton JT, Hauck RD
(1989) Decomposition rate of dicyandiamide and nitrification inhibition. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 20, 2067–2078.
Cameron KC, Di HJ
(2004) Nitrogen leaching losses from different forms and rates of farm effluent applied to a Templeton soil in Canterbury, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 47, 429–437.
Clough TJ,
Ledgard SF,
Sprosen MS, Kear MJ
(1998) Fate of N labelled urine on four soil types. Plant and Soil 199, 195–203.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Clough TJ,
Sherlock RR,
Cameron KC, Ledgard SF
(1996) Fate of urine nitrogen on mineral and peat soils in New Zealand. Plant and Soil 178, 141–152.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Davies DM, Williams PJ
(1995) The effect of the nitrification inhibitor dicyandiamide on nitrate leaching and ammonia volatilization: a UK nitrate sensitive areas perspective. Journal of Environmental Management 45, 263–272.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Di HJ, Cameron KC
(2002) The use of a nitrification inhibitor, dicyandiamide (DCD), to decrease nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emissions in a simulated grazed and irrigated grassland. Soil Use and Management 18, 395–403.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Di HJ, Cameron KC
(2003) Mitigation of nitrous oxide emissions in spray-irrigated grazed grassland by treating the soil with dicyandiamide, a nitrification inhibitor. Soil Use and Management 19, 284–290.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Di HJ, Cameron KC
(2004a) Effects of temperature and application rate of a nitrification inhibitor, dicyandiamide (DCD), on nitrification rate and microbial biomass in a grazed pasture soil. Australian Journal of Soil Research 42, 927–932.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Di HJ, Cameron KC
(2004b) Treating grazed pasture soil with a nitrification inhibitor, eco-n (TM), to decrease nitrate leaching in a deep sandy soil under spray irrigation: a lysimeter study. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 47, 351–361.
Di HJ, Cameron KC
(2006) Nitrous oxide emissions from two dairy pasture soils as affected by different rates of a fine particle suspension nitrification inhibitor, dicyandiamide. Biology and Fertility of Soils 42, 472–480.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Di HJ, Cameron KC
(2007) Comparison of the effectiveness of a nitrification inhibitor, dicyandiamide, in reducing nitrous oxide emissions in four different soils under different climatic and management conditions. Soil Use and Management 23, 1–9.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Guiraud G, Marol C
(1992) Influence of temperature on minerlization kinetics with a nitrification inhibitor (mixture of dicyandiamide and ammonium thiosulphate). Biology and Fertility of Soils 13, 1–5.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hedley CB,
Saggar S, Tate KR
(2006) Procedure for fast simultaneous analysis of the greenhouse gases: Methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide in air samples. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 37, 1501–1510.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kelliher FM,
Sedcole JR,
Minchin RF,
Wan Y,
Condron LM,
Clough TJ, Bol R
(2005) Soil microbial respiration responses to repeated urea applications in three grasslands. Australian Journal of Soil Research 43, 905–913.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kutzova RS,
Tribis Zh M,
Mikhaleva LV, Smirnova VF
(1993) Influence of nitrification inhibitors on microbiological processes of the nitrogen cycle in the soil. Eurasian Soil Science 25, 68–84.
McCarty GW, Bremner JM
(1989) Laboratory evaluation of dicyandiamide as a soil nitrification inhibitor. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 20, 2049–2065.
Merino P,
Estavillo JM,
Besga G,
Pinto M, Gonzalez-Murua C
(2001) Nitrification and denitrification derived N2O production from a grassland soil under application of DCD and Actilith F2. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 60, 9–14.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Moir JL,
Cameron KC, Di HJ
(2007) Effect of the nitrification inhibitor dicyandiamide on soil mineral N, pasture yield, nutrient uptake and pasture quality in a grazed pasture system. Soil Use and Management 23, 111–120.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Monaghan RM, Barraclough D
(1993) Nitrous oxide and dinitrogen emissions from urine-affected soil under controlled conditions. Plant and Soil 151, 127–138.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Mosier AR, Mack L
(1980) Gas chromatographic system for precise, rapid analysis of nitrous oxide. Soil Science Society of America Journal 44, 1121–1123.
Prakasa Rao EVS, Puttanna K
(1987) Nitrification and ammonia volatalisation losses from urea and dicyandiamide-treated urea in a sandy loam soil. Plant and Soil 97, 201–206.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Prasad R, Power JF
(1995) Nitrification inhibitors for agriculture, health, and the environment. Advances in Agronomy 54, 233–281.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Puttanna K,
Gowda NMN, Rao E
(1999) Effect of concentration, temperature, moisture, liming and organic matter on the efficacy of the nitrification inhibitors benzotriazole, o-nitrophenol, m-nitroaniline and dicyandiamide. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 54, 251–257.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Rajbanshi SS,
Benckier G, Ottow JCG
(1992) Effects of concentration, incubation temperature, and repeated applications on degradation kinetics of dicyandiamide (DCD) in model experiments with a silt loam soil. Biology and Fertility of Soils 13, 61–64.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Reddy GR
(1964) Effect of mixing varying quantities of dicyandiamide with ammonia fertilizers on nitrification of ammonia in soils. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 44, 254–259.
Saggar S,
Andrew RM,
Tate KR,
Hedley CB,
Rodda NJ, Townsend JA
(2004) Modelling nitrous oxide emissions from dairy-grazed pastures. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 68, 243–255.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Saggar S, Hedley CB
(2001) Estimating seasonal and annual carbon inputs, and root decomposition rates in a temperate pasture following field 14C pulse-labelling. Plant and Soil 236, 91–103.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Saggar S,
Tate KR,
Feltham CW,
Childs CW, Parshotam A
(1994) Carbon turn-over in a range of allophanic soils amended with 14C-labelled glucose. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 26, 1263–1271.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Smith LC,
Monaghan RM,
Ledgard SF, Catto WD
(2005) The effectiveness of different nitrification inhibitor formulations in limiting accumulation in a Southland pastoral soil. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 48, 517–529.
Sparling G,
Vojvodic-Vukovic M, Schipper LA
(1998) Hot-water soluble C as a simple measure of labile soil organic matter: the relationship with microbial biomass C. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 30, 1469–1472.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Vance ED,
Brookes PC, Jenkinson DS
(1987) An extraction method for measuring soil microbial C. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 19, 703–707.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Vilsmeier K
(1982) Kurzmitteilung verbesserte kolorimetrische bestimmung von dicyandiamid in bodenextrakten. Zeitschrift Planzenernaehr Bodenk 19, 703–707.
Watkinsons JH, Lee A
(1994) Kinetics of field oxidation of elemental sulfur in New Zealand pastoral soils and the effects of soil temperature and moisture. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 37, 59–68.
Weiske A,
Benckiser G,
Herbert T, Ottow JCG
(2001) Influence of the nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) in comparison to dicyandiamide (DCD) on nitrous oxide emissions, carbon dioxide fluxes and methane oxidation during 3 years of repeated application in field experiments. Biology and Fertility of Soils 34, 109–117.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Williamson JC,
Menneer JC, Torrens RS
(1996) Impact of dicyandiamide on the internal nitrogen cycle of a volcanic, silt loam soil receiving effluent. Applied Soil Ecology 4, 39–48.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Zhang HJ,
Wu ZJ, Zhou QX
(2004) Dicyandiamide sorption-desorption behaviour on soils and peat humus. Pedosphere 14, 395–399.
