Effect of sulfadiazine on soil nitrogen mineralization

Soil nitrogen (N) mineralization is important for soil fertility, and has been suggested to provide 20 to 80% of the N required by plants. Effects of antibiotic sulfadiazine (SD), a widely used antibiotic in livestock production, on the amount of net N mineralized in the soil were studied. The results showed that SD significantly inhibited the mineralization of N, and the inhibition increased with increasing SD concentration and reaction time. This suggested that soil fertility may be reduced with the presence of SD, with higher reduction rates when the concentration of SD increased from 0 to 2 mg/kg and during the first 21 reaction days.