Linking micronutrient supplementation to N₂O emissions and vegetable yield

Insights from pot experiments and systematic review

authored by

Paridhi Soni, Jiyeon Lim, Hyun Ho Lee

Abstract

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from upland arable soils significantly contribute to global warming, primarily driven by nitrogen (N) fertilization. Micronutrients, although applied in smaller amounts than macronutrients, play critical roles in microbial N transformations and can influence N₂O emissions and crop productivity. This study evaluates the effects of micronutrient supplementation (copper [Cu], iron [Fe], manganese [Mn], molybdenum [Mo], and zinc [Zn]) on N₂O emissions and crop yield using controlled pot experiments and a systematic literature review. The pot experiment demonstrated that Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn significantly minimized cumulative N₂O emissions compared to control, with particularly notable suppression observed for Cu and Mn even at moderate application rates (100 mg kg⁻¹). Analysis of nitrogen-related gene expression revealed that Cu significantly increased the abundance of nosZ gene, which enhances N₂O reductase activity and promotes the complete denitrification process to reduce N₂O emissions. Additionally, Mn increased to 53.0 % in amoA gene abundance, promoting faster conversion of NH₄⁺ to NO₃⁻, limiting N₂O accumulation. Yield-scaled N₂O emissions also significantly decreased in Cu and Mn treatments, indicating improved agronomic efficiency. Principal component analysis revealed distinct clustering by micronutrient type, with Zn showing the strongest impact on soil N cycling dynamics. In our systematic literature review, 78.6 % of Cu-related and 69.2 % of Zn-related observations reported decreases in N₂O emissions, with mean response ratios of −17.3 % for Cu and −20.0 % for Zn, respectively. Appropriate micronutrient applications in upland arable soils can effectively mitigate N₂O emissions while maintaining or enhancing crop productivity.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Microbiology

Type

Article

Journal

Journal of Agriculture and Food Research

Volume

23

Publication date

10.2025

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Food Science, Agronomy and Crop Science, Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2025.102237 (Access: Open)