scholarly journals Historical nitrogen fertilizer use in agricultural ecosystems of the contiguous United States during 1850–2015: application rate, timing, and fertilizer types

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 969-984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peiyu Cao ◽  
Chaoqun Lu ◽  
Zhen Yu
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Problems ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
N Loss ◽  
Fertilizer Use ◽  
N Fertilizers ◽  
Nitrate N ◽  
The Us ◽  
N Management ◽  
N Fertilizer Use ◽  
N Use

Abstract. A tremendous amount of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) fertilizer has been applied to agricultural lands to promote crop production in the US since the 1850s. However, inappropriate N management practices have caused numerous ecological and environmental problems which are difficult to quantify due to the paucity of spatially explicit time-series fertilizer use maps. Understanding and assessing N fertilizer management history could provide important implications for enhancing N use efficiency and reducing N loss. In this study, we therefore developed long-term gridded maps to depict crop-specific N fertilizer use rates, application timing, and the fractions of ammonium N (NH4+-N) and nitrate N (NO3−-N) used across the contiguous US at a resolution of 5 km  ×  5 km during the period from 1850 to 2015. We found that N use rates in the US increased from 0.22 g N m−2 yr−1 in 1940 to 9.04 g N m−2 yr−1 in 2015. Geospatial analysis revealed that hotspots for N fertilizer use have shifted from the southeastern and eastern US to the Midwest, the Great Plains, and the Northwest over the past century. Specifically, corn in the Corn Belt region received the most intensive N input in spring, followed by the application of a large amount of N in fall, implying a high N loss risk in this region. Moreover, spatial-temporal fraction of NH4+-N and NO3−-N varied largely among regions. Generally, farmers have increasingly favored ammonia N fertilizers over nitrate N fertilizers since the 1940s. The N fertilizer use data developed in this study could serve as an essential input for modeling communities to fully assess N addition impacts, and improve N management to alleviate environmental problems. Datasets used in this study are available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.883585.

scholarly journals Historical Nitrogen Fertilizer Use in Agricultural Ecosystem of the Continental United States during 1850–2015: Application rate, Timing, and Fertilizer Types

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peiyu Cao ◽  
Chaoqun Lu ◽  
Zhen Yu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Environmental Problems ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Past Century ◽  
N Loss ◽  
Fertilizer Use ◽  
N Management ◽  
N Fertilizer Use ◽  
N Use

Abstract. Tremendous amount of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) fertilizer has been applied to agricultural lands to promote the crop production in the United States since the 1850s. However, inappropriate N management practices caused numerous ecological and environmental problems which are difficult to quantify due to paucity of historically spatially explicit fertilizer use maps. Understanding and assessing N fertilizer management history could provide essential implications for enhancing N use efficiency (NUE) and reducing N loss. In this study, we therefore developed long-term gridded maps depicting crop-specific N fertilizer use rate, timing, and fraction of ammonium N (NH4+-N) and nitrate N (NO3−-N) across the contiguous U.S at a resolution of 5 km × 5 km during 1850–2015. We found that N use rates of the U.S. increased from 0.28 g N m−2 yr−1 in 1940 to 9.54 g N m−2 yr−1 in 2015. Geospatial analysis revealed that the hotspots of N fertilizer use have shifted from the southeastern and eastern U.S. to the Midwest and the Great Plains during the past century. Specifically, corn of the Corn Belt region received the most intensive N input in spring, followed by large N application amount in fall, implying a high N loss risk in this region. Moreover, spatial-temporal fraction of NH4+-N and NO3−-N varied largely among regions. Generally, farmers have increasingly favored NH4+-N form fertilizers over NO3−-N fertilizers since the 1940s. The N fertilizer use data developed in this study could serve as an essential input for modeling communities to fully assess the N addition impacts, and improve N management to alleviate environmental problems. Datasets available at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.883585.

scholarly journals Optimizing nitrogen fertilizer use for more grain and less pollution

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyu Ren ◽  
Minggang Xu ◽  
Rong Li ◽  
Lei Zheng ◽  
Shaogui Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Application Rate ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
N Application ◽  
Fertilizer Use ◽  
Application Rates ◽  
Operational Practices ◽  
N Management ◽  
N Fertilizer Use

Abstract Optimal nitrogen (N) management is critical for efficient crop production and agricultural pollution control. However, it is difficult to implement advanced management practices on smallholder farms due to a lack of knowledge and technology. Here, using 35,502 on-farm fertilization experiments, we demonstrated that smallholders in China could produce more grain with less N fertilizer use through optimizing N application rate. The yields of wheat, maize and rice were shown to increase between 10% and 19% while N application rates were reduced by 15–19%. These changes resulted in an increase in N use efficiency (NUE) by 32–46% and a reduction in N surplus by 40% without actually changing farmers’ operational practices. By reducing N application rates in line with official recommendations would not only save fertilizer cost while increasing crop yield, but at the same time reduce environmental N pollution in China. However, making progress towards further optimizing N fertilizer use to produce more grain with less pollution would require managements to improve farmers’ practices which was estimated to cost about 11.8 billion US dollars to implement.

ADDING VALUE TO FIELD-BASED AGRONOMIC RESEARCH THROUGH CLIMATE RISK ASSESSMENT: A CASE STUDY OF MAIZE PRODUCTION IN KITALE, KENYA

2011 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 317-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. N. DIXIT ◽  
P. J. M. COOPER ◽  
J. DIMES ◽  
K. P. RAO
Keyword(s):  
Weed Control ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Climate Risk ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Rates Of Return ◽  
Maize Production ◽  
Fertilizer Use ◽  
N Fertilizer Use

SUMMARYIn sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), rainfed agriculture is the dominant source of food production. Over the past 50 years much agronomic crop research has been undertaken, and the results of such work are used in formulating recommendations for farmers. However, since rainfall is highly variable across seasons the outcomes of such research will depend upon the rainfall characteristics of the seasons during which the work was undertaken. A major constraint that is faced by such research is the length of time for which studies could be continued, typically ranging between three and five years. This begs the question as to what extent the research was able to ‘sample’ the natural longer-term season-to-season rainfall variability. Without knowledge of the full implications of weather variability on the performance of innovations being recommended, farmers cannot be properly advised about the possible weather-induced risks that they may face over time. To overcome this constraint, crop growth simulation models such as the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) can be used as an integral part of field-based agronomic studies. When driven by long-term daily weather data (30+ years), such models can provide weather-induced risk estimates for a wide range of crop, soil and water management innovations for the major rainfed crops of SSA. Where access to long-term weather data is not possible, weather generators such as MarkSim can be used. This study demonstrates the value of such tools in climate risk analyses and assesses the value of the outputs in the context of a high potential maize production area in Kenya. MarkSim generated weather data is shown to provide a satisfactory approximation of recorded weather data at hand, and the output of 50 years of APSIM simulations demonstrate maize yield responses to plant population, weed control and nitrogen (N) fertilizer use that correspond well with results reported in the literature. Weather-induced risk is shown to have important effects on the rates of return ($ per $ invested) to N-fertilizer use which, across seasons and rates of N-application, ranged from 1.1 to 6.2. Similarly, rates of return to weed control and to planting at contrasting populations were also affected by seasonal variations in weather, but were always so high as to not constitute a risk for small-scale farmers. An analysis investigating the relative importance of temperature, radiation and water availability in contributing to weather-induced risk at different maize growth stages corresponded well with crop physiological studies reported in the literature.

scholarly journals MAXIMIZING WATER AND N FERTILIZER USE EFFICIENCIES UNDER MAIZE CROP AT NORTH DELTA

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-39
Author(s):  
H. A. Sonbol ◽  
Z. M. El-Sirafy ◽  
E. A. E. Gazia ◽  
H. A. Shams El-Din ◽  
Sahar H. Rashed
Keyword(s):  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Maize Crop ◽  
Fertilizer Use ◽  
N Fertilizer Use

scholarly journals Effectivity and Cost Efficiency of a Tax on Nitrogen Fertilizer to Reduce GHG Emissions from Agriculture

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 607
Author(s):  
Andreas Meyer-Aurich ◽  
Yusuf Nadi Karatay ◽  
Ausra Nausediene ◽  
Dieter Kirschke
Keyword(s):  
Risk Aversion ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Relative Advantage ◽  
N2o Emissions ◽  
Ghg Mitigation ◽  
Fertilizer Use ◽  
N Fertilizer Use

The use of nitrogen (N) fertilizer substantially contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to N2O emissions from agricultural soils and energy-intensive fertilizer manufacturing. Thus, a reduction of mineral N fertilizer use can contribute to reduced GHG emissions. Fertilizer tax is a potential instrument to provide incentives to apply less fertilizer and contribute to the mitigation of GHG emissions. This study provides model results based on a production function analysis from field experiments in Brandenburg and Schleswig-Holstein, with respect to risk aversion by calculating certainty equivalents for different levels of risk aversion. The model results were used to identify effective and cost-efficient options considering farmers’ risk aversion to reduce N fertilizer, and to compare the potential and cost of GHG mitigation with different N fertilizer tax schemes. The results show that moderate N tax levels are effective in reducing N fertilizer levels, and thus, in curbing GHG emissions at costs below 100 €/t CO2eq for rye, barley and canola. However, in wheat production, N tax has limited effects on economically optimal N use due to the effects of N fertilizer on crop quality, which affect the sale prices of wheat. The findings indicate that the level of risk aversion does not have a consistent impact on the reduction of N fertilizer with a tax, even though the level of N fertilizer use is generally lower for risk-averse agents. The differences in N fertilizer response might have an impact on the relative advantage of different crops, which should be taken into account for an effective implementation of a tax on N fertilizer.

scholarly journals Drainage Conditions Influence Corn-Nitrogen Management in the US Upper Midwest

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2491
Author(s):  
Gabriel Dias Paiao ◽  
Fabián G. Fernández ◽  
Seth L. Naeve
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Residual Soil ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Soil Drainage ◽  
Upper Midwest ◽  
The Us ◽  
Glycine Max L ◽  
N Management

Soil drainage is not considered in the N fertilizer guidelines for corn (Zea mays L.) in the US Midwest. This study investigated the influence of soil drainage on corn grain yield, N requirement, and residual soil N, and evaluated the utility of in-season soil N measurements to guide N application. This 6-year study in Minnesota, US on a corn–soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) rotation had drained and undrained conditions and six at planting (PL) (0–225 in 45 kg N ha−1 increments) and four split (SP) N fertilizer rates (at planting/V6-V8—45/45, 45/90, 45/135, 45/179 kg N ha−1). The drained compared to undrained soil produced 8% more grain yield (12.8 vs. 11.9 Mg ha−1), 12% more N uptake (169 vs. 151 kg N ha−1), 16% lower optimal N rate (ONR) (160 vs. 193 kg N ha−1), 3.1% greater grain yield at ONR (13.5 vs. 13.1 Mg ha−1), and similar in season and residual soil N. Compared to SP, PL lowered ONR (151 vs. 168 kg N ha−1) in drained soils, and the opposite occurred for undrained soils (206 vs. 189 kg N ha−1). These results substantiate the agronomic benefits of artificial drainage and the need to incorporate drainage conditions into N management guidelines.

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