Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
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.
Globally, nitrogen balances are quite inefficiently distributed with some countries having surpluses and others deficits, causing especially a range of environmental issues in the former. For most countries around the world, the trade-off between closing yield gaps and mitigating nitrogen pollution is small or non-existent.
When discussing the application of nitrogen in agriculture, it is essential to consider the sources of nitrogen used. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, such as ammonium nitrate and urea, are commonly applied to crops to replenish soil nitrogen levels and enhance crop productivity [3] These fertilizers provide readily available nitrogen for plant ...
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates world demand for nitrogen fertilizers will increase by 1.7% annually between 2011 and 2015. An increase of 7.5 million tonnes. Regional increases of nitrogen fertilizer use are expected to be 67% by Asia, 18% by the Americas, 10% by Europe, 3% by Africa, and 1% by ...
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.
Management techniques range from animal management and housing to the spread of pesticides and fertilizers in global agricultural practices, which can have major environmental impacts. Bad management practices include poorly managed animal feeding operations, overgrazing, plowing, fertilizer, and improper, excessive, or badly timed use of ...
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 ...
Intensification and other changes in the livestock industries influence energy use, emissions, and other environmental effects of meat production. [73] Manure can also have environmental benefits as a renewable energy source, in digester systems yielding biogas for heating and/or electricity generation.