Work

Application of urease inhibitors reduces soil NH3 volatilization in Chinese arable soils: A meta-analysis and incubation experiment

Year: 2026

Type: review

Abstract: Urease inhibitors (UIs) have potential for mitigating soil NH 3 volatilization. Data-driven studies have previously estimated the NH 3 reduction efficiency of UIs from a global perspective; however, their efficacy in specific NH 3 emission hotspot regions remains insufficiently assessed, and the factors influencing their performance are still unclear. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis combined with an incubation experiment using six agricultural soils from Southwest China to evaluate the NH 3 mitigation potential of UIs in China and to compare the performance of different inhibitor products. The meta-analysis show that UI application was associated with average reductions in area- and yield-scale NH 3 volatilization of 44.63% and 53.63%, respectively, in Chinese agroecosystems. Among the inhibitor types sufficiently represented in the field-experimental dataset, N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide + N-propyl thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT+NPPT) showed the greatest average reduction in NH 3 volatilization in the meta-analysis. The incubation experiment showed that cumulative NH 3 volatilization ranged from 0.63 to 11.44 kg N ha -1 across the six tested soils. High soil pH and sand content were generally associated with greater NH 3 volatilization, whereas NH 3 loss decreased with increasing soil silt content. In the incubation experiment, NBPT+NPPT and NBPT generally showed stronger NH 3 mitigation than the other tested products, but the difference between them was not statistically significant under the tested soil conditions. The efficacy of N-(2-nitrophenyl) phosphoric triamide (2-NPT) varied among soils, whereas hydroquinone (HQ) and phenylphosphorodiamidate (PPD) show relatively weak or inconsistent NH 3 mitigation. NBPT+NPPT and NBPT appear to be promising options for mitigating NH 3 volatilization, particularly in soils with high NH 3 loss potential, but their effectiveness should be interpreted as being soil- and product-dependent.

Source: Environmental Technology & Innovation

DOI: 10.1016/j.eti.2026.105158

Authors: Shikang Li, Jiankai Tang, Shuai Tan, Yuanxin Ruan, Qiliang Yang, Zhipeng Sha

Institution: Kunming University of Science and Technology

Language: English

Topic: Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics

Subfield: Soil Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDGs: Life on land, Climate action, Zero hunger

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,930