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 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 Northwestward Cropland Expansion and Growing Urea-Based Fertilizer Use Enhanced NH<sub>3</sub> Emission Loss in the Contiguous United States

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peiyu Cao ◽  
Chaoqun Lu ◽  
Jien Zhang ◽  
Avani Khadilkar
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Spatiotemporal Patterns ◽  
Fertilizer Management ◽  
Fertilizer Use ◽  
Nh3 Emission ◽  
The U.S

Abstract. The increasing demands of food and biofuel have promoted century-long cropland expansion and nitrogen (N) fertilizer enrichment in the United States. However, the role of such long-term human activities in influencing the spatiotemporal patterns of Ammonia (NH3) emission remains poorly understood. Based on an empirical model including climate, soil properties, N fertilizer management, and cropland distribution history, we have quantified monthly fertilizer-induced NH3 emission across the contiguous U.S. from 1900 to 2015. Our results show that N fertilizer-induced NH3 emission in the U.S. has increased from

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.

scholarly journals Northwestward cropland expansion and growing urea-based fertilizer use enhanced NH<sub>3</sub> emission loss in the contiguous United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (20) ◽  
pp. 11907-11922
Author(s):  
Peiyu Cao ◽  
Chaoqun Lu ◽  
Jien Zhang ◽  
Avani Khadilkar
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Spring Wheat ◽  
The United States ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Northern Great Plains ◽  
Fertilizer Use ◽  
Nh3 Emission ◽  
The Us ◽  
The 1960S

Abstract. The increasing demands of food and biofuel have promoted cropland expansion and nitrogen (N) fertilizer enrichment in the United States over the past century. However, the role of such long-term human activities in influencing the spatiotemporal patterns of ammonia (NH3) emission remains poorly understood. Based on an empirical model and time-series gridded datasets including temperature, soil properties, N fertilizer management, and cropland distribution history, we have quantified monthly fertilizer-induced NH3 emission across the contiguous US from 1900 to 2015. Our results show that N-fertilizer-induced NH3 emission in the US has increased from <50 Gg N yr−1 before the 1960s to 641 Gg N yr−1 in 2015, for which corn and spring wheat are the dominant contributors. Meanwhile, urea-based fertilizers gradually grew to the largest NH3 emitter and accounted for 78 % of the total increase during 1960–2015. The factorial contribution analysis indicates that the rising N fertilizer use rate dominated the NH3 emission increase since 1960, whereas the impacts of temperature, cropland distribution and rotation, and N fertilizer type varied among regions and over periods. Geospatial analysis reveals that the hot spots of NH3 emissions have shifted from the central US to the Northern Great Plains from 1960 to 2015. The increasing NH3 emissions in the Northern Great Plains have been found to closely correlate to the elevated NH4+ deposition in this region over the last 3 decades. This study shows that April, May, and June account for the majority of NH3 emission in a year. Interestingly, the peak emission month has shifted from May to April since the 1960s. Our results imply that the northwestward corn and spring wheat expansion and growing urea-based fertilizer uses have dramatically altered the spatial pattern and temporal dynamics of NH3 emission, impacting air pollution and public health in the US.

The Use of Fertilizer and its Environmental Consequences

1997 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noel D. Uri
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Agricultural Productivity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Market Forces ◽  
Fertilizer Use ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Economic Forces ◽  
Relative Factor

The increase in the use of fertilizer in agricultural production has been associated with a substantial increase in agricultural productivity in the United States. This increase in fertilizer use has been driven by a variety of economic forces including variations in the price of output and changing relative factor prices. Associated with the increase in the use of fertilizer have been adverse environmental consequences that are not reflected in the costs and returns of agricultural production. That is, externalities exist whose cost need to be internalized. Because the use of fertilizer has been shown to respond to market forces, it is efficient to use the market to control the use of fertilizer. This can be done through, for example, the use of a fertilizer tax.

scholarly journals Extent and Variation of Nitrogen Losses from Non-legume Field Crops of Conterminous United States

Nitrogen ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-51
Author(s):  
Amitava Chatterjee
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Application Rate ◽  
Fertilizer N ◽  
N Loss ◽  
N Losses ◽  
Field Crops ◽  
N Application Rate ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
N Management

Nitrogen (N) losses from field crops have raised environmental concerns. This manuscript accompanies a database of N loss studies from non-legume field crops conducted across the conterminous United States. Cumulative N losses through nitrous oxide-denitrification (CN2O), ammonia volatilization (CNH3), and nitrate leaching (CNO3−) during the growing season and associated crop, soil, and water management information were gathered to determine the extent and controls of these losses. This database consisted of 404, 26, and 358 observations of CN2O, CNH3, and CNO3− losses, respectively, from sixty-two peer-reviewed manuscripts. Corn (Zea mays) dominated the N loss studies. Losses ranged between −0.04 to 16.9, 2.50 to 50.9, and 0 to 257 kg N ha−1 for CN2O, CNH3 and CNO3−, respectively. Most CN2O and CNO3− observations were reported from Colorado (n = 100) and Iowa (n = 176), respectively. The highest values of CN2O, and CNO3− were reported from Illinois and Minnesota states, and corn and potato (Solanum tuberosum), respectively. The application of anhydrous NH3 had the highest value of CN2O loss, and ammonium nitrate had the highest CNO3− loss. Among the different placement methods, the injection of fertilizer-N had the highest CN2O loss, whereas the banding of fertilizer-N had the highest CNO3− loss. The maximum CNO3− loss was higher for chisel than no-tillage practice. Both CN2O and CNO3− were positively correlated with fertilizer N application rate and the amount of water input (irrigation and rainfall). Fertilizer-N management strategies to control N loss should consider the spatio-temporal variability of interactions among climate, crop-and soil types.

Nitrate in aquifers beneath agricultural systems

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 19-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.R. Burkart ◽  
J.D. Stoner
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Groundwater Vulnerability ◽  
The United States ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Nitrate Contamination ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
Fertilizer Use ◽  
Unconfined Aquifers ◽  
The World

Research from several regions of the world provides spatially anecdotal evidence to hypothesize which hydrologic and agricultural factors contribute to groundwater vulnerability to nitrate contamination. Analysis of nationally consistent measurements from the U.S. Geological Survey’s NAWQA program confirms these hypotheses for a substantial range of agricultural systems. Shallow unconfined aquifers are most susceptible to nitrate contamination associated with agricultural systems. Alluvial and other unconsolidated aquifers are the most vulnerable and shallow carbonate aquifers provide a substantial but smaller contamination risk. Where any of these aquifers are overlain by permeable soils the risk of contamination is larger. Irrigated systems can compound this vulnerability by increasing leaching facilitated by additional recharge and additional nutrient applications. The agricultural system of corn, soybeans, and hogs produced significantly larger concentrations of groundwater nitrate than all other agricultural systems, although mean nitrate concentrations in counties with dairy, poultry, cattle and grains, and horticulture systems were similar. If trends in the relation between increased fertilizer use and groundwater nitrate in the United States are repeated in other regions of the world, Asia may experience increasing problems because of recent increases in fertilizer use. Groundwater monitoring in Western and Eastern Europe as well as Russia over the next decade may provide data to determine if the trend in increased nitrate contamination can be reversed. If the concentrated livestock trend in the United States is global, it may be accompanied by increasing nitrogen contamination in groundwater. Concentrated livestock provide both point sources in the confinement area and intense non-point sources as fields close to facilities are used for manure disposal. Regions where irrigated cropland is expanding, such as in Asia, may experience the greatest impact of this practice.

scholarly journals Abnehmende Kooperation in der Umweltpolitik trotz zunehmender wirtschaftlicher Integration : das kanadisch-amerikanische Verhältnis im Umweltbereich

1992 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 112-120
Author(s):  
A. Gurtner-Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Integration ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
The United States ◽  
Environmental Problems ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Canadian Experience ◽  
Political Response ◽  
Trading Partners

Abstract. Over the last decades, Canada and Switzerland, countries with "small" economies, when compared with their neighbours, have experienced increasing economic Integration with their main trading partners, the United States and the European Community (EC) respectively. Using a political-economic approach, this article analyzes the effects of growmg Integration for management of transboundary, environmental problems in North America. As well, in view of the Canadian experience, possible implications for Switzerland in its future relationship to the EC are addressed. In the past the Canadian-American debate over transboundary environmental problems has centered around questions of territory. Despite increasing economic Integration, the dominant reaction to ecological interdependence has been reliance on national policies. In accordance with the American, economic leadership in the continental System, the kind of political response to transboundary, environmental Problems is mainly dictated by the importance of the problem in the United States. The Great Lakes are an area of mutual concern and, therefore, an example for limited, environmental Cooperation and the adoption of an environmental advanced Position. In the U. S., the political response to acid rain was reactive and delayed, since only certain regions were concerned. Despite Canadian domestic and international efforts during the 1980s, until recently no significant progress has been made in developing effective measures to abate air emissions. The conclusion of the Canada-U. S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 1988 did not change the very nature of the mutual environmental relationship. However, in the corollary to the FTA serious threats to the environment can be identified. Liberalized trade and restrained State Intervention foster the accelerated exploitation of Canada's natural resources and further the harmonization of environmental Standards between the two countries. In view ofthe Canadian experience, the article concludes that for Switzerland an economic agreement with the EC without parallel environmental commitments could have significant, negative consequences.

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