Old fertilizer keeps polluting the air years later
Li Z, Zou Z, Liu X, Ye T, Yu Q
Soil Health
The compost and fertilizer you spread this spring don't stop affecting the atmosphere when the growing season ends; nitrogen keeps leaching out as a potent greenhouse gas for years afterward, which is exactly the kind of long-tail effect backyard composters and no-till gardeners are trying to avoid.
When farmers add nitrogen fertilizer to fields, some of it turns into nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas nearly 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Scientists found that a chunk of this gas keeps leaking out of the soil for years after the fertilizer was applied, not just during the season it was used, and current climate accounting has been ignoring that lingering effect. Fixing how much nitrogen goes on wheat, corn, and rice fields at the right time could cut this pollution while actually growing more food.
Key Findings
Legacy N2O emission factors averaged 0.09% for wheat, 0.17% for maize, and 0.04% for rice, adding 7-13% on top of direct fertilizer emissions
Total fertilizer-related N2O emissions from the three staple crops (0.87 Tg N2O-N per season) came in about 30% higher than current IPCC tier 1 estimates
Crop-specific nitrogen management could cut emissions by 0.47 Mt, boost production by 362.8 Mt, and potentially feed 8 million more people by 2100
chevron_right Technical Summary
Fertilizer applied to wheat, maize, and rice keeps releasing the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide for years after the season it was used, a source scientists have been missing in their climate math. Accounting for this 'legacy' pollution and fixing fertilizer timing could cut emissions while growing enough extra food to feed 8 million more people by 2100.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Legacy N2O Emissions Overlooked and Crop-Specific Mitigation Solutions.
Agricultural soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions primarily originate from three sources: nitrogen fertilizer-induced direct seasonal emissions and postseasonal legacy emissions, and soil background ...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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