Process-based modelling of ammonia emission from grazing

Excessive ammonia (NH3) emission, originating largely from agriculture, can affect water, air and soil quality, and through these, endanger ecosystem and human health. Since NH3 emission is strongly dependent on temperature and also influenced by other meteorological variables, the question arises: how will NH3 emission alter in a changing climate? A way to address this question and predict the subsequent environmental consequences is to construct meteorology-driven models of NH3 emission from every agricultural source. Furthermore, NH3 emission is a highly localised and dynamic process. The focus of this thesis is NH3 emission from grazing. In the first stage a new process-based model for NH3 emission from a urine patch was developed. The GAG model (Generation of Ammonia from Grazing) is capable of simulating the TAN (total ammoniacal nitrogen) and the water content of the soil under a urine patch and also soil pH dynamics. In the second stage, GAG was applied to the scale of a grazed field, combining multiple simulations of the patch-scale model including both urine-affected and unaffected (“clean”) areas. The modelled NH3 fluxes were found to be in good agreement with the observations for both model types. The sensitivity of NH3 flux was assessed to various soil physical and chemical parameters for both the patch and the field scale models. It was found that ammonia volatilization from a urine patch could be influenced by the possible restart of urea hydrolysis after a rain event as well as carbon-dioxide emissions from the soil. Over the field scale, it was shown that the temporal evolution of the NH3 exchange flux was dominated by the NH3 emission from the patches within the field. The results also suggested that NH3 fluxes over the field in a given day could be considerably affected by the NH3 emission from urine patches deposited several days earlier. In the last stage of the work, a comprehensive sensitivity analysis was carried out with a special focus on temperature, for both versions of the GAG model. It was shown that due to the different governing dynamics over the patch and the field scale, the temperature-dependence of NH3 exchange is stronger over the field scale. It was also concluded that the temperature-dependence of NH3 exchange is stronger if the sinks of NH3 are stronger within the system. Finally, it was found, that Q10, a widely-used metric to express the relative increase of trace gas emissions over a range of 10 °C, is influenced by the length of the period of investigation and the initial value of the temperature range

Nitrogen Challenges and Opportunities for Agricultural and Environmental Science in India

In the last six decades, the consumption of reactive nitrogen (Nr) in the form of fertilizer in India has been growing rapidly, whilst the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of cropping systems has been decreasing. These trends have led to increasing environmental losses of Nr, threatening the quality of air, soils, and fresh waters, and thereby endangering climate-stability, ecosystems, and human-health. Since it has been suggested that the fertilizer consumption of India may double by 2050, there is an urgent need for scientific research to support better nitrogen management in Indian agriculture. In order to share knowledge and to develop a joint vision, experts from the UK and India came together for a conference and workshop on “Challenges and Opportunities for Agricultural Nitrogen Science in India.” The meeting concluded with three core messages: (1) Soil stewardship is essential and legumes need to be planted in rotation with cereals to increase nitrogen fixation in areas of limited Nr availability. Synthetic symbioses and plastidic nitrogen fixation are possibly disruptive technologies, but their potential and implications must be considered. (2) Genetic diversity of crops and new technologies need to be shared and exploited to reduce N losses and support productive, sustainable agriculture livelihoods. Móring et al. Nitrogen Challenges and Opportunities (3) The use of leaf color sensing shows great potential to reduce nitrogen fertilizer use (by 10–15%). This, together with the usage of urease inhibitors in neem-coated urea, and better management of manure, urine, and crop residues, could result in a 20–25% improvement in NUE of India by 2030

Process-based modelling of NH3 exchange with grazed grasslands

In this study the GAG model, a process-based ammonia (NH3) emission model for urine patches, was extended and applied for the field scale. The new model (GAG_field) was tested over two modelling periods, for which micrometeorological NH3 flux data were available. Acknowledging uncertainties in the measurements, the model was able to simulate the main features of the observed fluxes. The temporal evolution of the simulated NH3 exchange flux was found to be dominated by NH3 emission from the urine patches, offset by simultaneous NH3 deposition to areas of the field not affected by urine. The simulations show how NH3 fluxes over a grazed field in a given day can be affected by urine patches deposited several days earlier, linked to the interaction of volatilization processes with soil pH dynamics. Sensitivity analysis showed that GAG_field was more sensitive to soil buffering capacity (β), field capacity (θfc) and permanent wilting point (θpwp) than the patch-scale model. The reason for these different sensitivities is dual. Firstly, the difference originates from the different scales. Secondly, the difference can be explained by the different initial soil pH and physical properties, which determine the maximum volume of urine that can be stored in the NH3 source layer. It was found that in the case of urine patches with a higher initial soil pH and higher initial soil water content, the sensitivity of NH3 exchange to β was stronger. Also, in the case of a higher initial soil water content, NH3 exchange was more sensitive to the changes in θfc and θpwp. The sensitivity analysis showed that the nitrogen content of urine (cN) is associated with high uncertainty in the simulated fluxes. However, model experiments based on cN values randomized from an estimated statistical distribution indicated that this uncertainty is considerably smaller in practice. Finally, GAG_field was tested with a constant soil pH of 7.5. The variation of NH3 fluxes simulated in this way showed a good agreement with those from the simulations with the original approach, accounting for a dynamically changing soil pH. These results suggest a way for model simplification when GAG_field is applied later at regional scale

The nitrogen decade: mobilizing global action on nitrogen to 2030 and beyond

Despite its relevance to most UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), nitrogen pollution still lacks broad visibility and coordinated global governance. A new goal to “halve nitrogen waste” by 2030 would save US$100 billion annually, contributing to post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) economic recovery and multiple SDGs. The scientific community is working with the UN to coordinate and accelerate the necessary action