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Human and animal wastes: Implications for atmospheric N 2 O and NO x
Author(s) -
McElroy Michael B.,
Wang Yuxuan X.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
global biogeochemical cycles
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.512
H-Index - 187
eISSN - 1944-9224
pISSN - 0886-6236
DOI - 10.1029/2004gb002429
Subject(s) - denitrification , nitrification , yield (engineering) , nitrogen , environmental science , nitrous oxide , environmental chemistry , nitrite , agriculture , atmospheric sciences , chemistry , ecology , biology , nitrate , geology , materials science , organic chemistry , metallurgy
More than 220 Tg N are processed annually through the global agriculture/animal/human food chain. It is suggested that aerobic denitrification, reduction of nitrite formed in the first stage of nitrification, is an important source not only of global N 2 O but also of NO x . A simple top‐down method indicates a globally averaged yield of 2% for N 2 O emitted as a consequence of human disturbances to the global nitrogen cycle. This yield can account not only for the contemporary budget of atmospheric N 2 O but also for trends observed over the past 1000 years. The associated microbial source of NO x is estimated assuming a NO x /N 2 O ratio of 3, consistent with results from a variety of laboratory and field studies. This source is significant, particularly for large developing countries such as China and India for which its contribution is comparable to that from fossil fuel.