What’s the benefit of using nitrification inhibitors?
Nitrification is the process which occurs in soil where urea is converted to ammonium and then to nitrate. A bi-product, nitrous oxide, which is a greenhouse gas is also produced in this process. Nitrification inhibitors slow the process of ammonium converting into nitrate. This is an advantage because like nitrate, ammonium can be taken up and used by plants, but ammonium is less prone to leaching through the soil. Thus, nitrification inhibitors reduce the potential for nitrate leaching losses and nitrous oxide gas emissions.
Urea deposited in livestock urine (up to 1000 kg N/ha in a single urine patch) is more than the pasture plants can use (particularly in winter). Therefore urine deposits from livestock in intensive pasture systems can result in significant nitrate losses to groundwater and nitrous oxide losses to the atmosphere.
Nitrification inhibitors provide a way of reducing these nitrogen losses associated with livestock and their urine deposits. Used at the right time, a nitrification inhibitor has been shown to reduce these losses significantly and retain nitrogen in the soil for longer allowing better plant uptake of that nitrogen.
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