Effect of nitrification inhibitor on plant biomass and N2O emission rates in alpine meadows on the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

ABSTRACTTreatment with nitrification inhibitors, such as dicyandiamide (DCD) and 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) have been strongly indicated to increase grassland biomass and mitigate soil N2O emission rates. However, the responses of both alpine meadow aboveground biomass and N2O emission rates to nitrification inhibitors remains unclear. We separately applied three doses of DCD and DMPP to alpine grassland soils with three duplicates. The biomass and N2O emission rates were subsequently measured by a clear-cut method and in-situ static chamber gas chromatography during the growing season. Our findings indicated that aboveground biomass increased significantly, and N2O emission rate decreased significantly at 6.8 kg ha−1 DCD and DMPP. Furthermore, the biomass increase effect was more significant than the N2O emission rate mitigation effect (p < 0.05). The highest ratios of DCD treatments on meadow production increase and N2O emission rate decrease were 27.2% and 36.3%, respectively. Our findings provide insight into the enhanced grassland primary production and decreased N2O flux by nitrification inhibitor treatment in alpine meadows, which may be beneficial to help mitigate global warming.