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Ammonia Assessment from Agriculture: U.S. Status and Needs
Author(s) -
Aneja Viney P.,
Blunden Jessica,
James Kristen,
Schlesinger William H.,
Knighton Raymond,
Gilliam Wendell,
Jennings Greg,
Niyogi Dev,
Cole Shawn
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq2007.0002in
Subject(s) - reactive nitrogen , agriculture , environmental science , natural resource economics , agricultural productivity , production (economics) , environmental protection , air pollution , greenhouse gas , air quality index , business , work (physics) , environmental planning , environmental resource management , nitrogen , chemistry , ecology , engineering , geography , meteorology , economics , macroeconomics , organic chemistry , biology , mechanical engineering
Recent studies suggest that human activities accelerate the production of reactive nitrogen on a global scale. Increased nitrogen emissions may lead to environmental impacts including photochemical air pollution, reduced visibility, changes in biodiversity, and stratospheric ozone depletion. In the last 50 yr, emissions of ammonia (NH 3 ), which is the most abundant form of reduced reactive nitrogen in the atmosphere, have significantly increased as a result of intensive agricultural management and greater livestock production in many developed countries. These agricultural production practices are increasingly subject to governmental regulations intended to protect air resources. It is therefore important that an accurate and robust agricultural emission factors database exist to provide valid scientific support of these regulations. This paper highlights some of the recent work that was presented at the 2006 Workshop on Agricultural Air Quality in Washington, D.C. regarding NH 3 emissions estimates and emission factors from agricultural sources in the U.S. and Europe. In addition, several best management practices are explored as the scientific community attempts to maximize the beneficial use of reactive nitrogen while simultaneously minimizing negative environmental impacts.