Microbiological Nitrogen Transformations in Soil Treated with Pesticides and Their Impact on Soil Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Abstract

Research was conducted in connection with the pressure exerted by man on the environment through the use of pesticides. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of pesticides on soil and to evaluate the effect of these changes on greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. The research was carried out on soil sown with oilseed rape. The activity of protease and urease, ammonification, nitrification in soil, as well as CO2 (carbon dioxide) and N2O (nitrous oxide) gas emissions from soil were assessed. The analyses were carried out directly after harvest and 2 months after. Pesticides most frequently negatively affected the tested parameters, in particular enzymatic activities. Of the two herbicides used, Roundup had a stronger negative impact on microbial activity. The application of pesticides, especially the fungicide, resulted in an increase in gas emissions to the atmosphere over time. Pesticides disturbed soil environmental balance, probably interfering with qualitative and quantitative relationships of soil microorganism populations and their metabolic processes. This led to the accumulation of microbial activity products in the form of, among others, gases which contribute to the greenhouse effect by escaping from the soil into the atmosphere.

Assessment of the impact of spent mushroom substrate on biodiversity and activity of soil bacterial and fungal populations based on classical and modern soil condition indicators

“…This allows for the assessment of soil environmental balance over an extended period. This knowledge can also help mitigate the negative impact of various agricultural practices on climate change (Jezierska et al, 2021a;Lynch et al, 2021;Holka et al, 2022). Therefore, in this study, microbiological and enzymatic activity parameters, along with DNA analysis, were used to assess the impact of the application of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) and manure (M) on the soil environment.…”