Investigating the fate and behaviour of nitrification inhibitors in soil systems

Intensive application of N-based fertilisers has become a common practise to achieve high crop yields. However, a large proportion of the applied N is lost to the surroundings causing unwanted consequences.

Addition of nitrification inhibitors (NIs) has been recommended as a strategy to minimise N-losses and improve overall N-use efficiency. Current NIs have some limitations and their efficiency varies greatly depending upon environmental and edaphic variables. There is a little understanding for the reason behind these inconsistent responses. This study focuses on gaining a deeper understanding of the efficiency, fate and behaviour of NIs in soil systems through degradation studies.