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Biological Nitrification Inhibition—A Novel Strategy to Regulate Nitrification in Agricultural Systems

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/5385/
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/bookseries/00652113
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-394275-3.00001-8
 
Title Biological Nitrification Inhibition—A Novel Strategy to Regulate Nitrification in Agricultural Systems
 
Creator Subbarao, G V
Sahrawat, K L
Nakahara, K
Ishikawa, T
Kishii, M
Rao, I M
Hash, C T
George, T S
Srinivasa Rao, P
Nardi, P
Bonnett, D
Berry, W
Suenaga, K
 
Subject Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics
 
Description Human activity has had the single largest influence on the global nitrogen (N) cycle by introducing unprecedented amounts of reactive-N into ecosystems. A major portion of this reactive-N, applied as fertilizer to crops, leaks into the environment with cascading negative effects on ecosystem functions and contributes to global warming. Natural ecosystems use multiple pathways of the N-cycle to regulate the flow of this element. By contrast, the large amounts of N currently applied in agricultural systems cycle primarily through the nitrification process, a single inefficient route that allows much of the reactive-N to leak into the environment. The fact that present agricultural systems do not channel this reactive-N through alternate pathways is largely due to uncontrolled soil nitrifier activity, creating a rapid nitrifying soil environment. Regulating nitrification is therefore central to any strategy for improving nitrogen-use efficiency. Biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) is an active plant-mediated natural function, where nitrification inhibitors released from plant roots suppress soil-nitrifying activity, thereby forcing N into other pathways. This review illustrates the presence of detection methods for variation in physiological regulation of BNI-function in field crops and pasture grasses and analyzes the potential for its genetic manipulation. We present a conceptual framework utilizing a BNI-platform that integrates diverse crop science disciplines with ecological principles. Sustainable agriculture will require development of production systems that include new crop cultivars capable of controlling nitrification (i.e., high BNI-capacity) and improved agronomic practices to minimize leakage of reactive-N during the N-cycle, a critical requirement for increasing food production while avoiding environmental damage.
 
Publisher Academic Press
 
Date 2012
 
Type Book Section
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
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Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/5385/1/AA%2712_BNI.pdf
Subbarao, G V and Sahrawat, K L and Nakahara, K and Ishikawa, T and Kishii, M and Rao, I M and Hash, C T and George, T S and Srinivasa Rao, P and Nardi, P and Bonnett, D and Berry, W and Suenaga, K (2012) Biological Nitrification Inhibition—A Novel Strategy to Regulate Nitrification in Agricultural Systems. In: Advances in Agronomy. Academic Press, Burlington, pp. 249-302. ISBN 978-0-12-394275-3