Effects of the nitrification inhibitor dicyandiamide (DCD) on N2Oemissions and the abundance of nitrifiers and denitrifiers in two contrasting agricultural soils

Abstract

Purpose: Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a trace gas and is mainly produced through the microbial-mediated nitrification and denitrification processes in agricultural soils. Dicyandiamide (DCD) is a powerful nitrification inhibitor (NI) which can mitigate N2O production from soil. However, it remains poorly understood how N2O emission and associated microbes are affected by DCD application across different agricultural soils. Materials and methods: Here, we carried out a 21-day laboratory microcosm incubation experiment to examine the impact of ammonium sulfate and DCD applications on N2O production and the abundance of nitrifiers and denitrifiers in two contrasting agricultural soils. The abundance ..