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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Terrestrial Microbiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1433816
This article is part of the Research Topic Exploring the Overlooked Nitrogen Transformation Pathways for Nitrogen Loss or Retention From the Soil Scenario: A Contemporary and Holistic Approach Towards Sustainability View all 6 articles

Copper pyrazole addition regulates soil mineral nitrogen turnover by mediating microbial traits

Provisionally accepted
Yuming Wang Yuming Wang 1Wenling Zhong Wenling Zhong 1Xiwen Zhang Xiwen Zhang 1Minghui Cao Minghui Cao 1Zheng Ni Zheng Ni 1Mengxia Zhang Mengxia Zhang 2Jiangye Li Jiangye Li 3Yan Duan Yan Duan 1Lifang Wu Lifang Wu 1*
  • 1 Hefei Institute of Technology Innovation, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Hefei, Anhui Province, China
  • 2 Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
  • 3 Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JAAS), Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The huge amount of urea applied has necessitated best-developed practices to slow down the release of nitrogen (N) fertilizer while minimizing nitrate loss. However, the impact of nitrification inhibitors on mineral-N turnover and the associated microbial mechanisms at different stages remains unknown. A 60-day incubation experiment was conducted with four treatments: no fertilizer (CK), urea (U), urea with copper pyrazole (UC), and urea coated with copper pyrazole (SUC), to evaluate the changes about soil ammonia N (NH_4^+-N) and nitrate N (NO_3^--N) levels as well as in soil microbial community throughout the whole incubation period. The results showed that copper pyrazole exhibited significantly higher inhibition rates on urease compared to other metal-pyrazole coordination compounds. The soil NH_4^+-N content peaked on the 10th day and was significantly greater in UC compared to U, while the NO_3^--N content was significantly greater in U compared to UC on the 60th day. Copper pyrazole mainly decreased the expression of nitrifying (AOB-amoA) and denitrifying (nirK) genes, impacting the soil microbial community. Co-occurrence network suggested that Mycobacterium and Cronobacter sakazakii-driven Cluster 4 community potentially affected the nitrification process in the initial phase, converting NH_4^+-N to NO_3^--N. Fusarium-driven Cluster 3 community likely facilitated the denitrification of NO_3^--N and caused N loss to the atmosphere in the late stage. The application of copper pyrazole may influence the process of nitrification and denitrification by regulating soil microbial traits (module community and functional genes). Our research indicates that the addition of copper pyrazole alters the community function driven by keystone taxa, altering mineral-N turnover and supporting the use of nitrification inhibitors in sustainable agriculture.

    Keywords: Nitrification inhibitors, Copper pyrazole, soil mineral nitrogen, microbial community, Nitrogen-cycling genes

    Received: 16 May 2024; Accepted: 09 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang, Zhong, Zhang, Cao, Ni, Zhang, Li, Duan and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Lifang Wu, Hefei Institute of Technology Innovation, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Hefei, 230088, Anhui Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.