Nitrous oxide emission and denitrifier communities in drip-irrigated calcareous soil as affected by chemical and organic fertilizers

The effects of consecutive application of chemical fertilizer with or without organic fertilizer on soil N2O emissions and denitrifying community structure in a drip-irrigated field were determined. The four fertilizer treatments were (i) unfertilized, (ii) chemical fertilizer, (iii) 60% chemical fertilizer plus cattle manure, and (iv) 60% chemical fertilizer plus biofertilizer. The treatments with organic amendments (i.e. cattle manure and biofertilizer) reduced cumulative N2O emissions by 4.9–9.9%, reduced the N2O emission factor by 1.3–42%, and increased denitrifying enzyme activities by 14.3–56.2%. The nirK gene copy numbers were greatest in soil which received only chemical fertilizer. In contrast, nirS- and nosZ-copy numbers were greatest in soil amended with chemical fertilizer plus biofertilizer. Chemical fertilizer application with or without organic fertilizer significantly changed the community structure of nirK-type denitrifiers relative to the unfertilized soil. In comparison, the nirS- and nosZ-type denitrifier genotypes varied in treatments receiving organic fertilizer but not chemical fertilizer alone. The changes in the denitrifier communities were closely associated with soil organic carbon (SOC), NO3−, NH4+, water holding capacity, and soil pH. Modeling indicated that N2O emissions in this soil were primarily associated with the abundance of nirS type denitrifying bacteria, SOC, and NO3−. Overall, our findings indicate that (i) the organic fertilizers increased denitrifying enzyme activity, increased denitrifying-bacteria gene copy numbers, but reduced N2O emissions, and (ii) nirS- and nosZ-type denitrifiers were more sensitive than nirK-type denitrifiers to the organic fertilizers.