A problematic issue in agriculture is the high quantity of ammonia being released resulting in a partial loss of the nitrogen which is contained in urea fertilizers. Alignment with European Union legislation on the regulation of ammonia emission from mineral fertilizers after 2030, urea fertilizers with reduced ammonia emissions by at least 30% will be allowed to remain in use. Currently, laboratory and field tests are carried out to assess the effectiveness of inhibiting nitrogen losses from urea fertilizers. Both urease and nitrification inhibitors are tested. The best results were noticed for the urease inhibitor - NBPT (N-(n-Butyl) thiophosphoric triamide) that can reduce ammonia emissions from urea fertilizers by 30-70% in both laboratory and field tests. The addition of NBPT to the UAN (urea ammonium nitrate solution) fertilizer allowed for the reduction of ammonia emission by 50%. Combining nitrification inhibitors with urease inhibitors may lead to an increase in ammonia emission because they prolong the retention time of ammonium ions in soil, which are the precursors in the process of ammonia emission. In order to meet the imposed requirements under field conditions, in addition factors such as: dose and date of application, method of application, type of soil cultivation, its type and pH and atmospheric conditions should be considered. This review gives an overview of the factors influencing the efficiency of nitrogen use from urea-based fertilizers, taking into account the effectiveness of modified fertilizers (with urease and nitrification inhibitors) in reduction of ammonia emissions.

Urea is one of the most popular fertilizers in the world. In 2018, the global production capacity of urea reached the level of 210 million metric tonnes. Due to the fact that the world population is growing steadily, the demand for food is increasing, and thus also the consumption of urea. The...

Soil microbial activity as influenced by compaction and straw mulching: Field study was performed on Haplic Luvisol soil to determine the effects of soil compaction and straw mulching on microbial parameters of soil under soybean. Treatments with different compaction were established on unmulched and mulched with straw soil. The effect of soil compaction and straw mulching on the total bacteria number and activities of dehydrogenases, protease, alkaline and acid phosphatases was studied. The results of study indicated the decrease of enzymes activities in strongly compacted soil and their increase in medium compacted soil as compared to no-compacted treatment. Mulch application caused stimulation of the bacteria total number and enzymatic activity in the soil under all compaction levels. Compaction and mulch effects were significant for all analyzed microbial parameters (P<0.001).