Using the Nitrification Inhibitor Nitrapyrin in Dairy Farm Effluents Does Not Improve Yield-Scaled Nitrous Oxide and Ammonia Emissions but Reduces Methane Flux

Abstract

The application of dairy farm effluents (DFE) without previous treatment in paddocks was intensified due to the approval of this practice in Costa Rican legislation since 2012. Applying DFE instead of synthetic N fertilizer in grasslands is an opportunity to reach a circular economy; however, this practice increases the risk of emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and ammonia (NH3), which contribute to global warming. A field experiment was carried out using a permanent grassland (90% Star grass and 10% Kikuyo grass) to simultaneously assess the effect of nitrapyrin on yield-scaled emissions of NH3, CH4, and N2O. The experiment lasted for 5 months in 2017, based on a randomized complete block design, including three treatments of control (CK) without N application, surface application of DFE with nitrapyrin (SNI), and without nitrapyrin (S). Total N applied was 149 ± 12 kg N ha−1 for both S and SNI treatments split into five applications. CH4 emissions from S, SNI, and CK showed a high temporal variation. Daily fluxes of CH4 from SNI were significantly lower than those of S in August (P < 0.05). Cumulative emissions of CH4, the majority produced in the soil, ranged from 4 to 168 g ha−1 for S, and from −13 to 88 g ha−1 for SNI. The ratio between the N2O cumulative emissions and the N applied as DFE were 1.6 ± 0.5 and 1.7 ± 0.2% for S and SNI, respectively. NH3 volatilization potential was very low (i.e., 0.6 ± 0.2% of the N applied). Under the prevailing experimental conditions, no significant difference between yield-scaled NH3 and N2O emissions were found between S and SNI, suggesting that nitrapyrin may not be a viable mitigation option for gaseous N losses from DFE application in Costa Rican grasslands in rainy season.