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Reactive nitrogen inputs to US lands and waterways: how certain are we about sources and fluxes?
Author(s) -
Sobota Daniel J,
Compton Jana E,
Harrison John A
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
frontiers in ecology and the environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.918
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1540-9309
pISSN - 1540-9295
DOI - 10.1890/110216
Subject(s) - environmental science , ecosystem , agriculture , reactive nitrogen , unit (ring theory) , range (aeronautics) , resource (disambiguation) , environmental resource management , nitrogen , ecology , computer science , biology , mathematics , computer network , physics , mathematics education , materials science , quantum mechanics , composite material
An overabundance of reactive nitrogen (N) as a result of anthropogenic activities has led to multiple human health and environmental concerns. Efforts to address these concerns require an accurate accounting of N inputs. Here, we present a novel synthesis of data describing N inputs to the US, including the range of estimates, spatial patterns, and uncertainties. This analysis shows that human‐mediated N inputs are ubiquitous across the country but are spatially heterogeneous, ranging from < 0.1 to 34.6 times the background N input for individual water‐resource units (8‐digit Hydrologic Unit Codes). The Midwest, Mid‐Atlantic, central California, and portions of the Columbia River valley currently receive the highest N loads. Major opportunities to advance our understanding of N sources can be achieved by: (1) enhancing the spatial and temporal resolution of agricultural N input data, (2) improving livestock and human waste monitoring, and (3) better quantifying biological N fixation in non‐cultivated ecosystems.