A comparison of the efficiency of different urease inhibitors and their effects on soil prokaryotic community in a short-term incubation experiment

Urease inhibitors are widely used in agricultural soils to reduce nitrogen loss, but their effects on soil microbial communities remain largely unknown. In a microcosm incubation experiment the urease inhibitor N-(n-butyl)thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) was more effective than hydroquinone (HQ) in inhibiting urease in the studied soil, although both altered the soil prokaryotic community. The abundance of ureolytic microbes in the urea-supplemented soil was similar to that in the Control when urea was degraded. However, urease inhibitors, especially NBPT, enriched ureolysis groups. Thus, although urease inhibitors can temporarily suppress soil urease activity, they may result in a microbial community with enriched ureolytic groups, thereby increasing the difficulty of reducing nitrogen loss through ammonia volatilization.