Optimizing Nitrogen Management in Food and Energy Production and Environmental Protection: Summary Statement from the Second International Nitrogen Conference

Cowling, E.; Galloway, James N.; Furiness, Cari S.; Barber, Mary; Bresser, Ton; Cassman, K.G.; Erisman, J. W.; Haeuber, Richard; Howarth, Robert W.; Melillo, Jerry M.; Moomaw, William R.; Mosier, A. R.; Sanders, K.F.; Seitzinger, Sybil P.; Smeulders, Stan; Socolow, Robert H.; Walters, Daniel T.; West, Ford B.; Zhu, Zhaoliang

doi:10.1100/tsw.2001.481

Cited by 36 publications

(22 citation statements)

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“…Our study also indicates that the generally accepted ‘critical loads’ of N, widely used to advise pollutant emission reduction policy with a view to minimizing habitat degradation throughout Europe (Cowling et al . 2001), may require revision to take into account substantial amplification of N‐deposition effects by grazing.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Interplay between nitrogen deposition and grazing causes habitat degradation

et al. 2003

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Increased atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has been held responsible for the large‐scale invasion of graminoids (grasses, sedges and rushes) in a wide range of habitats from forests to upland heaths, causing dramatic changes in plant species composition. Concurrently with an increase in N deposition over the last century, livestock grazing has intensified in many parts of the world following policy reform, leading to large‐scale degradation of natural and seminatural ecosystems. On the basis of a series of experiments conducted in a Scottish montane ecosystem, we discovered that grazing and N deposition do not operate independently, and the interplay between them is leading to the replacement of valuable moss‐dominated habitat by grasses and sedges. Our study indicates that in setting ‘critical loads’ of N, widely used to minimize habitat degradation, it is necessary to account for substantial amplification of N‐deposition effects by grazing.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Interplay between nitrogen deposition and grazing causes habitat degradation

et al. 2003

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“…Atmospheric N compounds are important reactants for the production of tropospheric ozone and other photochemical oxidants, and deposited N is changing the species composition of semi-natural plant communities at regional scales in Europe. Effects on both atmospheric chemistry and ecosystem function are now widespread and are regarded as indicators of the global perturbation of the N cycle (Cowling et al, 2002). Human health effects resulting from the use of increased use of nitrogen in agriculture, and from combustion of fossil fuels are also widespread geographically and in the range of different effects (Townsend et al, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Chronology of Nitrogen Deposition in the UK Between 1900 and 2000

Fowler

O'Donoghue

Muller

et al. 2004

Water Air Soil Pollut: Focus

106

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Measurements of the concentrations of nitrogen compounds in air and precipitation in the UK have been made since the mid-19th century, but no networks operating to common protocols and having traceable analytical procedures were established until the 1950s. From 1986 onwards, a highquality network of sampling stations for precipitation chemistry was established across the UK. In the following decade, monitoring networks provided measurement of NO 2 , NH 3 , HNO 3 and a satisfactory understanding of the dry deposition process for these gases allowed dry deposition to be quantified. Maps of N deposition for oxidized and reduced compounds at a spatial scale of 5 km × 5 km are available from 1986 to 2000. Between 1950 and 1985, the more limited measurements, beginning with those of the European Air Chemistry Network (EACN) provide a reasonable basis to estimate wet deposition of NO − 3 −N and NH + 4 −N. For the first half of the century, estimates of deposition were scaled with emissions assuming a constant relationship between emission and deposition for each of the components of the wet and dry deposition budget at the country scale. Emissions of oxidized N, which dominated total nitrogen emissions throughout the century, increased from 312 kt N annually in 1900 to a peak of 787 kt for the decade 1980-1990 and then declined to 460 kt in 2000. Emissions of reduced N, largely from coal combustion were about 168 kt N in 1900, increasing to a peak of 263 kt N in 2000 and by now dominated by agricultural sources. Reduced N dominated the deposition budget at the country scale, increasing from 163 kt N in 1900 to 211 kt N in 2000, while deposition of oxidized N was 66 kt N in 1900 and 191 kt N in 2000. Over the century, 68 Mt (Tg) of fixed N was emitted within the UK, 78% as NO x , while 29 Mt of nitrogen was deposited (43% of emissions), equivalent to 1.2 t N ha −1 , on average, with 60% in the reduced form. Deposition to semi-natural ecosystems is approximately 15 Tg N, equivalent to between 1 and 5 t N ha −1 , over the century and appears to be accumulating in soil. The N deposition over the century is similar in magnitude to the total soil N inventory in surface horizons.

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“…If, at that time, everyone had the same per capita production rate as today the global nitrogen production rate would be 250 MtN year −1 . However, if each person had achieved the same per capita rate as North America today, the global rate would be 900 MtN year −1 (Cowling et al . 2001).…”

Section: The Nitrogen Cyclementioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen: the essential public enemy

Dalton

Brand-Hardy

2003

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary 1.Increased demand for food and energy is leading to changes in the global nitrogen cycle. These changes are resulting in increasing levels of nitrogen in the environment in its pollutant forms with consequences for both biodiversity and human health. In this paper, we discuss the impacts in the UK and give examples of the steps that are being taken by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to tackle these problems. 2. Over 70% of the UK land area is farmland. The farmed environment is composed of a wide range of semi-natural habitats including heather moorland, chalk downland, wet grasslands farm woodlands and hedgerows. As a result, much of the UK's cherished biodiversity is an integral part of agriculture and therefore vulnerable to changes in farming practices. 3. Defra's overall goal is to build a sustainable future for the UK. With regard to nitrogen pollution, this involves finding ways of continuing to meet our food and energy requirements whilst causing little or no harm to the environment. 4. Defra's science programme has a central role to play in the development of its nitrogen pollution policies. These pollution policies provide a key input to the Department's evidence base for policy formulation, and support international negotiations on pollution targets. 5. The Department's science programme has addressed the major components of the nitrogen cycle associated with harmful impacts on the environment and human health. The main aims have been the understanding and quantification of impacts through monitoring and modelling and the development of abatement measures. 6. Synthesis and application. It is becoming increasingly apparent that whilst advances can and have been made in the reduction of emissions from combustion processes, the problem of nitrogen pollution from agriculture is far more intractable. This scientific challenge, when taken together with emerging regulatory initiatives, will require imaginative solutions if the UK Government is to forge a sustainable way forward.

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Optimizing Nitrogen Management in Food and Energy Production and Environmental Protection: Summary Statement from the Second International Nitrogen Conference

Cited by 36 publications

References 0 publications

Interplay between nitrogen deposition and grazing causes habitat degradation

Interplay between nitrogen deposition and grazing causes habitat degradation

A Chronology of Nitrogen Deposition in the UK Between 1900 and 2000

Nitrogen: the essential public enemy

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