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Human impact on the nitrogen cycle is diverse. Agricultural and industrial nitrogen (N) inputs to the environment currently exceed inputs from natural N fixation. [1] As a consequence of anthropogenic inputs, the global nitrogen cycle (Fig. 1) has been significantly altered over the past century.
Nitrogen Cycle. Nitrogen's effects on agriculture profoundly influence crop growth, soil fertility, and overall agricultural productivity, while also exerting significant impacts on the environment. Nitrogen is an element vital to many environmental processes.
Nitrogen is present in the environment in a wide variety of chemical forms including organic nitrogen, ammonium (NH + 4), nitrite (NO − 2), nitrate (NO − 3), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), nitric oxide (NO) or inorganic nitrogen gas (N 2). Organic nitrogen may be in the form of a living organism, humus or in the intermediate products of organic ...
Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are the "Big 3" primary nutrients in commercial fertilizers, each of these fundamental nutrients play a key role in plant nutrition. [4] When nitrogen and phosphorus are not fully utilized by the growing plants, they can be lost from the farm fields and negatively impact air and downstream water quality. [5]
Fertilizers are used to provide crops with additional sources of nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, that promote plant growth and increase crop yields. While they are beneficial for plant growth, they can also disrupt natural nutrient and mineral biogeochemical cycles and pose risks to human and ecological health.
Nitrogen fertilizer can be converted by soil bacteria to nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas. [56] Nitrous oxide emissions by humans, most of which are from fertilizer, between 2007 and 2016 have been estimated at 7 million tonnes per year, [ 57 ] which is incompatible with limiting global warming to below 2 °C.
Nitrogen fertilizers are made from ammonia (NH 3) produced by the Haber–Bosch process. [28] In this energy-intensive process, natural gas (CH 4) usually supplies the hydrogen, and the nitrogen (N 2) is derived from the air. This ammonia is used as a feedstock for all other nitrogen fertilizers, such as anhydrous ammonium nitrate (NH 4 NO 3 ...
Nitrogen fertilizer being applied to growing corn in a contoured, no-tilled field in Iowa.. Nutrient management is the science and practice directed to link soil, crop, weather, and hydrologic factors with cultural, irrigation, and soil and water conservation practices to achieve optimal nutrient use efficiency, crop yields, crop quality, and economic returns, while reducing off-site transport ...