Denitrification in soil: Effects of herbicides

The effects of 20 herbicides on denitrification of nitrate in three soils were studied by determining the effects of 10 and 50μgg^?1 soil of each herbicide on the amounts of nitrate lost and the amounts of nitrite, N₂O and N₂ produced when soil samples were incubated anaerobically after treatment with nitrate. The herbicides used were butylate, EPTC, chlorpropham, propham, diuron, linuron, monuron, siduron, alachlor, trifluralin, 2,4-D amine, 2,4-D ester, atrazine, cyanazine, metribuzin, simazine, dalapon, chloramben, dicamba and dinoseb.None of the herbicides studied significantly affected denitrification of nitrate when applied at the rate of 10 μg g^?1 soil, but dinoseb increased the ratio of N₂ to N₂O in the gaseous products of denitrification when applied at this rate. Butylate, EPTC, diuron, simazine and dalapon had no significant effect on denitrification when applied at the rate of 50μgg^?1 soil, whereas metribuzin and dinoseb enhanced denitrification when applied at this rate. The influence of the other herbicides on denitrification when applied at the rate of 50μgg^?1soil depended on the soil, but all enhanced or inhibited denitrification in at least one soil.     

Denitrification and fermentation in plant-residue-amended soil

Summary Nitrous oxide production (denitrification) during anaerobic incubation of ground-alfalfa-, red-clover-, wheat-straw-, and cornstover-amended soil was positively related to the initial water-soluble C content of the residue- amended soil. The water-soluble C concentration decreased in all treatments during the first 2 days, then increased in the alfalfa-, red-clover-, and wheat-straw-amended soil until the end of the experiment at 15 days. An accumulation of acetate, propionate, and butyrate was partly responsible for the increased water-soluble C concentration. Denitrification rates were much higher in the alfalfa-and red-clover-amended soil, but NO ₃ ^– was not fully recovered as N₂O in these treatments. Supported by earlier experiments in our laboratory, we conclude that some of the NO ₃ ^– was reduced to NH ₄ ⁺ through fermentative NO ₃ ^– reduction, otherwise known as dissimilatory NO ₃ ^– reduction to NH ₄ ⁺ . Acetate, the primary product of anaerobic fermentation, accumulated in the alfalfa- and red-clover-amended soil in the presence of NO ₃ ^– , supporting previous observations that the processes of denitrification and fermentation occur simultaneously in C-amended soil. The partitioning of NO ₃ ^– between denitrification and fermentative NO ₃ ^– reduction to NH ₄ ⁺ depends on the activity of the denitrifying and fermentative bacterial populations. NO₂ concentration may be a key in the partitioning of NO ₃ ^– between these two processes.     

Effects of insecticides on populations of microflora,nitrification and respiration in soil

Abstract

Tests were conducted to determine the effects of leptophos, phorate, terbufos, and WL 24073 {0‐ [2‐chloro‐1‐(2,5‐dichloro‐phenyl) vinyl] 0‐methylethylphosphonothioate} on microbial populations and activities in a sandy loam. A stimulatory effect on bacterial numbers was observed with some insecticide treatments in the early stages of incubation. WL 24073 increased the nitrification of the incorporated (NH₄)₂SO₄‐N. Phorate stimulated soil microbial respiration.     

Denitrification in a cultivated soil: Optimal glucose and nitrate concentrations

An experiment was conducted in the laboratory on a cultivated soil incubated in serum bottles with a range of C-to-nitrate concentrations. C was added in form of glucose and nitrate in form of Ca(NO₃)₂. It was shown that an C-N concentration of respectively 500 μg C (glucose-equivalent, Glc-Eq.) and 36 μg N g⁻ dry soil was optimal for denitrification. Results obtained either in the laboratory, in soil columns or in the field were in good agreement with one another. In particular, the root zone was shown to be favorable for denitrifying activity because the water-soluble C (Glc-Eq.) and N concentrations were more favorable than in bare soil. Furthermore, the water-soluble extractable Glc-Eq. appeared to be closely related to the denitrification rate and is thus likely to represent the energetic C pool supporting denitrification.

This was related to an inhibiting effect of increasing NO₃⁻ and NO₂⁻ concentrations on NO₃⁻ loss and N₂O production. Such inhibition can affect short-term measurements of denitrification in the field.     

Denitrification in drained and undrained arable clay soil

Emissions of nitrous oxide (N₂O) and nitrogen gas (N₂) from denitrification were measured using the acetylene inhibition method on drained and undrained clay soil during November 1980-June 1981. Drainage limited denitrification to about 65% of losses from undrained soil. Emissions from the undrained soil were in the range 1 to 12 g N ha^–1 h^–1 while those from the drained soil ranged from 0.5 to 6 g N ha^–1 h^–1 giving estimated total losses (N₂O + N₂) of 14 and 9 kgN ha^–1.
Drainage also changed the fraction of nitrous oxide in the total denitrification product. During December, emissions from the drained soil (1.8±0.6 gN ha^–1 h^–1) were composed entirely of nitrous oxide, but losses from the undrained soil (2.7 ± 1.1 g N ha^–1 h^–1) were almost entirely in the form of nitrogen gas (the fraction of N₂O in the total loss was 0.02). In February denitrification declined in colder conditions and the emission of nitrous oxide from drained soil declined relative to nitrogen gas so that the fraction of N₂O was 0.03 on both drainage treatments. The delayed onset of N₂O reduction in the drained soil was related to oxygen and nitrate concentrations. Fertilizer applications in the spring gave rise to maximum rates of emission (5–12g N ha^–1 h^–1) with the balance shifting towards nitrous oxide production, so that the fraction of N₂O was 0.2–0.8 in April and May.     

The effect of three fungicides on nitrification and ammonification in soil

Three fungicides, Captan, Thiram and Verdasan were added at varying concentrations to soil amended with ammonium sulphate, and their effect upon nitrification and ammonification was studied over 28 days. Two general effects of addition of fungicides on nitrification were apparent. At very low concentrations all three fungicides stimulated or did not affect this process. The stimulation was most marked after treatment with Thiram at 10 μg a.i./g soil. At higher concentrations the fungicides led to a progressive decrease in nitrate production. The concentration at which nitrification was inhibited was for Verdasan 10 μg, Thiram 100 μg and Captan above 250 μg a.i./g soil.At low concentration all three fungicides did not greatly affect ammonification. At increasing concentrations, however, there was a marked increase of NH⁺₄-N, compared with the controls. The lowest rates of application of the three fungicides resulted in most nitrification and least ammonification. The results are discussed in relation to the differential effects of the fungicides on the soil microbial population.     

The effects of fungicides on soil fungal populations

Four fungicides, Captan, Dicloran, Thiram and Verdasan were applied at 28-day intervals for 12 consecutive months and their effects on soil fungal numbers and the incidence of individual species were studied. Immediately after application, these fungicides reduced the number of fungal propagules in soil by 23, 11, 36 and 50% respectively compared with control. Captan- and Dicloran-treated soils were rapidly recolonised within 7 days of the application of fungicides. The effects of Thiram and Verdasan were more persistent: the fungal numbers in soils treated with these fungicides did not recover sufficiently to reach control levels throughout the sampling period. Fewer species of fungi were isolated from Thiram- and Verdasan-treated soils than from Captan- and Dicloran-treated soils. Chrysosporium pannorum (Link) Hughes was the principal species isolated from Verdasan-treated soil and the fungus was isolated in increased numbers immediately after application of Verdasan than on subsequent sampling days. Cladosporium cladosporioides (Fres.) de Vries, Mortierella minutissima van Tiegh, Trichocladium asperum Harz, Trichoderma hamatum (Bon.) Bain, and Zygorhynchus moelleri Vuill. were found to be generally tolerant of all four fungicides. However, Botryotrichum piluliferum Sacc. and Marchai, Gliocladium roseum Bain., Humicola fusco-atra Traaen, Sepedonium chrysospermum (Bull.) Link ex Fr., and Trichoderma viride Pers. ex Fr. were generally intolerant of the fungicides but rapidly recolonised the treated soils. While the concentrations of Captan and Dicloran used were fungistatic to T. viride, Thiram and Verdasan were fungicidal.     

Quantitative estimation of rhizobia in non-sterile soil using antibiotics and fungicides

Rapid and accurate soil population counts of antibiotic labelled slow-growing rhizobia have been obtained using the agar growth medium described.     

Denitrification rate relationships with soil parameters in the field

Abstract

It has been recently shown that there is a large spatial variability in denltrification rates measured in the field. The objective of this study was to assign this variability to twelve measurable or determined soil parameters known or suspected to be Important to denitrification during the early part of the growing season. Relationships were sought with 16 cores at a grid spacing of 25 cm on three sites (dates) within a 0.07 ha area of a cultivated silt loam soil. The denitrification rate was estimated from the N₂O production rate with the acetylene blockage technique.

Only few statistical significant relationships were found with simple and multiple regression analyses and there was a lack of consistency from site to site. Plotting the data revealed a tentative negative relationship between the N₂O production rate and percent air‐filled porosity. A few cores at each site showed a much greater N₂O production rate for no discernable reason, but these rates were also negatively related to percent air‐filled porosity. Tentative positive relationships between N₂O production rate and total organic carbon or water‐soluble carbon were similarly found.     

Inhibition of soil urease by organophosphorus insecticides

The effect of three organophosphorus insecticides on soil urease was examined. Inhibition of urea hydrolysis, some 60 days after application of 1000 parts/10⁶ of insecticide to a sandy clay loam, approached 40% (accothion) and exceeded 50% in the case of malathion and thimet. Similar inhibitory effects were recorded using a silt loam soil with which 200 parts/10⁶ application also produced inhibition ranging from 14% (accothion) to 23% (thimet) after 10 days. With lower concentrations of insecticide (50 parts/10⁶) inhibition, though again significant, was of a more ephemeral nature.All three insecticides, at a concentration of 1000 parts/10⁺⁶, prevented almost any hydrolysis of urea by jack bean urease. Ureolytic microorganisms, isolated from the soils under investigation, were inhibited by the organophosphates to a greater or lesser extent but the development of tolerance was common.It is suggested that the application of insecticides to control soil-borne insect pests may be a factor in determining the efficiency of urea fertilizer mineralization.     

Denitrification enzyme activity is limited by soil aeration in a wastewater-irrigated forest soil

 In land-based wastewater treatment systems (LTS), denitrification is an important nitrogen removal process. We investigated the factors limiting the denitrifying population in a forested LTS, by studying the individual and combined effects of soil aeration, water content, nitrate and carbon on denitrification enzyme activity (DEA). The size of the soil denitrifying population in the LTS appeared to be limited by soil aeration, and limiting oxygen availability increased the denitrifying population above that observed in the field. Furthermore, we found that wastewater irrigation altered the short-term response of denitrifiers to anaerobic soil conditions. Under low oxygen conditions, denitrifiers in the wastewater-irrigated soils produced enzymes sooner and at a greater rate than soils without a history of wastewater irrigation. We propose that the size of the denitrifying population cannot be expected to be large in free-draining, coarsely textured soils even when provided with additional nitrogen and water inputs. Received: 11 October 1999     

Denitrification activity in the root zone of a sludge-amended desert soil

Summary We evaluated potential NO _inf3 ^sup- losses from organic and inorganic N sources applied to improve the growth of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) on a Pima clay loam soil (Typic Torrifluvent). An initial set of soil cores (April 1989) was collected to a depth of 270 cm from sites in a cotton field previously amended with anaerobically digested sewage sludge or an inorganic N fertilizer. The denitrification potential was estimated in all soil samples by measuring N₂O with gas chromatography. Soils amended with a low or high rate of sludge showed increased denitrification activity over soil samples amended with a low rate or inorganic N fertilizer. All amended samples showed greater denitrification activity than control soils. The denitrification decreased with soil depth in all treatments, and was only evident as deep as 90 cm in the soils treated with the high sludge rate. However, when soils collected from depths greater than 90 cm were amended with a C substrate, significant denitrification activity occurred. These date imply that organisms capable of denitrification were present in all soil samples, even those at depths far beneath the root zone. Hence, denitrification was C-substrate limited. A second series of soil cores taken later in the growing season (July 1989) confirmed these data. Denitrification losses (under laboratory conditions) to a soil depth of 270 cm represented 1–4% of total soil N depending on treatment, when the activity was C-substrate limited. With additional C substrate, the denitrification losses increased to 15–22% of the total soil N.     

联苯菊酯等3种杀虫剂在茶园茶叶、土壤及降雨径流中的残留

为探究杀虫剂联苯菊酯、溴氰菊酯和虫螨腈的常用剂量和减施剂量对绿茶品种‘丰绿’（Camellia sinensis Yutakmitor）的鲜叶和茶园土壤及降雨径流的影响以及可能产生的膳食摄入风险,选择联苯菊酯、溴氰菊酯和虫螨腈的当地常用剂量和减量30%剂量作为处理组,在浙江绍兴富盛镇御茶村茶园进行田间试验,喷药后1 d、3 d、7 d、10 d分别采集试验小区的鲜叶和土壤,喷药后4 d、8 d采集降雨径流,检测样品中的杀虫剂残留并评估3种杀虫剂的膳食暴露风险。试验结果表明：同种杀虫剂常用剂量处理的茶鲜叶中残留虽然高于减施剂量处理,但二者差异不显著,杀虫剂减量30%对减少鲜叶中的残留并无明显效果。经过常用剂量与减施剂量处理的茶鲜叶中联苯菊酯的半衰期分别为5.89 d和4.61 d,溴氰菊酯的半衰期分别为5.75 d和2.55 d,虫螨腈的半衰期分别为3.72 d和2.70 d。3种杀虫剂在土壤中的残留均低于《土壤环境质量标准（GB 15618-1995）》中有机氯杀虫剂六六六的一级标准值（≤ 0.05 mg·kg^-1）。联苯菊酯和虫螨腈在降雨径流中的残留均低于《生活饮用水卫生标准（GB5749-2006）》中有机氯杀虫剂六六六的限值（0.005 mg·L^-1）,溴氰菊酯在降雨径流中的残留低于《生活饮用水卫生标准（GB5749-2006）》中溴氰菊酯的限值（≤ 0.02 mg·L^-1）。3种杀虫剂在茶叶中的膳食暴露风险评估结果表明,联苯菊酯、溴氰菊酯和虫螨腈的最大暴露量分别为0.5×10^-4~1.7×10^-4 mg·kg^-1（bw）·d^-1、1.0×10^-6~7.3×10^-6 mg·kg^-1（bw）·d^-1、1.0×10^-5~8.3×10^-5 mg·kg^-1（bw）·d^-1,风险商分别为0.005~0.017、0.000 2~0.001和0.000 2~0.003,使用联苯菊酯、溴氰菊酯和虫螨腈防治茶树虫害,对消费者的膳食暴露的风险均可以接受。与常用剂量相比,减施剂量处理对减少茶叶和环境中的杀虫剂残留的效果不明显。     

Denitrification potential of a salt marsh soil: Effect of temperature,pH and substrate concentration

Denitrification was studied using samples of salt marsh soils collected from the New Jersey coast. The pH, organic matter content, NO₃^? and NO₂^? concentrations were determined on samples from marshes with and without grasses. Denitrification was measured in laboratory studies over a temperature range from 4° to 60°C and a pH range from 5.0 to 9.0 by monitoring NO₃^? reduction, NO₂^? reduction and N₂ evolution. Optimum conditions were controlled by a temperature-pH interaction which caused shifts in the pH optima relative to the change in temperature. No₃^? and NO₂^? were reduced over a broad range of No₃^? concentration; whereas, 0.2 mg NO₂^?-N ml^?1 completely inhibited denitrification. The presence of NO₃^? reverses this inhibition. N₂O was produced only at low pH values and low NO₃^? concentrations. It was concluded that the NO₂^? reducing system was the most easily disrupted of the three main processes of denitrification.     

Sorption behavior of triazole fungicides in Indian soils and its correlation with soil properties

Adsorption-desorption of triazole fungicides, hexaconazole [2-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-(1H-1,2,4,-triazol-1-yl) hexan-2-ol], triadimefon [1-(4-chlorophenoxy)-3,3-dimethyl-1-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl) butan-2-one], and penconazole[1-(2,4-dichloro-beta-propyl phenethyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole] was studied in five Indian soils using batch method. The adsorption isotherms fitted very well to the Freundlich equation. Adsorption of various triazole fungicides increased in this order: triadimefon > hexaconazole > penconazole. The product of the Freundlich adsorption constants, K(f)(1/n), showed good correlation with the soil organic carbon (OC) content, suggesting that soil OC is the main controlling factor for triazoles adsorption. Clay and silt content of the soil also affected the adsorption constants. Adsorption of hexaconazole and triadimefon was nearly reversible in two low OC soils (soil 3, soil 5) where 90-100% of the sorbed fungicides was released in a single washing step. Otherwise, desorption of triazole fungicides showed hysteresis, and 30-60% of the triazole fungicides were retained by the soil after single washing. IR spectra showed that H-bonds and charge-transfer bonds between humic acid and fungicides probably operated as mechanisms of adsorption.     

Denitrification characteristics of subtropical soils in China affected by soil parent material and land use

Forty‐five soil samples were collected from rice paddy land (R), tea garden land (T), forestland (F), brush land (B), and upland (U) in Jiangxi province, a subtropical region of China. These soils were derived from Quaternary red earth (Q), Tertiary red sandstone (S), and granite (G). Their denitrification capacities were determined after treatment with 200 mg NO₃⁻‐N kg⁻¹ soil by measuring changes in NO₃⁻‐N content during a 28‐day anaerobic incubation under N₂ gas in the headspace, at 30°C. The subtropical soils studied here were characterized by generally small denitrification capacities, ranging from no denitrification capacity to complete disappearance of added NO₃⁻‐N within 11 days of incubation. With few exceptions, NO₃⁻‐N reduction with incubation time followed a first‐order relationship with reaction constants of 0 – 0.271 day⁻¹, but the data could be simulated better by a logarithmic relationship. Thus, denitrification capacity was determined by the reaction constant of the first‐order reaction, the slope of the logarithmic relationship, and the averaged NO₃⁻‐N reduction rate in the first 7 days of anaerobic incubation (ranging from 0 to 28.5 mg kg⁻¹day⁻¹), and was significantly larger in the soils derived from G than from Q and S for all land uses except for rice paddy land. Soil organic carbon and nitrogen availability are the key factors that determine differences in denitrification capacity among the three soil parent materials. Rice cultivation significantly promoted denitrification capacity compared with the other four land uses and masked the effect of soil parent materials on denitrification capacity. This is most likely due to increases in organic carbon and total N content in the soil, which promoted the population and biological activities of microorganisms which are able to respire anaerobically when the rice soil is flooded. Neither the increased pH of upland soil caused by the addition of lime for upland crop production, nor the decreased pH of the tea garden soil by the acidification effect of tea plants altered soil denitrification capacity. Our results suggest that land use and management practices favour soil carbon and/or nitrogen accumulation and anaerobic microorganism activities enhance soil denitrification capacity.     

Denitrification rates in relation to groundwater level in a peat soil under grassland

In this study spatial and temporal relations between denitrification rates and groundwater levels were assessed for intensively managed grassland on peat soil where groundwater levels fluctuated between 0 and 1 m below the soil surface. Denitrification rates were measured every 3–4 weeks using the C₂H₂ inhibition technique for 2 years (2000–2002). Soil samples were taken every 10 cm until the groundwater level was reached. Annual N losses through denitrification averaged 87 kg N ha^-1 of which almost 70% originated from soil layers deeper than 20 cm below the soil surface. N losses through denitrification accounted for 16% of the N surplus at farm-level (including mineralization of peat), making it a key-process for the N efficiency of the present dairy farm. Potential denitrification rates exceeded actual denitrification rates at all depths, indicating that organic C was not limiting actual denitrification rates in this soil. The groundwater level appeared to determine the distribution of denitrification rates with depth. Our results were explained by the ample availability of an energy source (degradable C) throughout the soil profile of the peat soil.This revised version was published online November 2003 with corrections to Figure 4 and in February 2004 with corrections to Figure 2.     

Changes in the free amino acid content of soil following treatment with fungicides

Both quantitative and qualitative changes in the free amino acid content of soil followed treatment with the fungicides Benomyl, Thiram and Verdasan. The amounts of amino acid-N extracted following the additions of high concentrations of the fungicides were in general lower than the controls over the 28-day incubation period. Low rates of application however, resulted in marked increase in the amounts of amino acid-N extracted. A total of nine different amino acids were extracted seven of which were found consistently in the control soils. Glycine and threonine were markedly favoured by all treatments, whereas the frequency of extraction of the other seven amino acids was dependent upon the fungicide used and its concentration. The results are discussed in relation to the changes in the microbiology of soils which are known to be brought about following partial sterilization with fungicides.