Modeling global annual N2O and NO emissions from fertilized fields

Only those factors having a significant influence on N₂O and NO emissions were included in the models.For N₂O these were:

1. environmental factors (climate, soil organic C content, soil texture, drainage and soil pH)
2. management-related factors (N application rate per fertilizer type, type of crop, with major differences between grass, legumes and other annual crops)
3. factors related to the measurements (length of measurement period and frequency of measurements)

The most important controls on NO emission include the N application rate per fertilizer type, soil organic-C content and soil drainage.Calculated global annual N₂O-N and NO-N emissions from fertilized agricultural fields amount to 2.8 and 1.6 Mtonne, respectively. The global mean fertilizer-induced emissions for N₂O and NO amount to 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively, of the N applied. These overall results account for the spatial variability of the main N₂O and NO emission controls on the landscape scale.

More information

• Refer to article: Emissions of N₂O and NO from fertilized fields: summary of available measurement data