253-1 Global Importance and Progress of Reducing Anthropogenic Emissions of Nitrous Oxide.



Tuesday, October 18, 2011: 8:05 AM
Henry Gonzalez Convention Center, Room 211, Concourse Level

Bryan Hopkins and Joshua LeMonte, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT

Reducing anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) has dominated media, political, and scientific agendas in recent years. The atmospheric concentration of CO2 has approximately doubled in the last 100 years due to rapid increases in the burning of nonrenewable fossil fuels. In addition to concerns of resource depletion, CO2 is a greenhouse gas with the potential to increase global temperatures with a variety of potential catastrophic effects. Nitrous oxide (N2O) is also a greenhouse gas, but it does not receive nearly as much attention due to anthropogenic emissions of CO2 approximately ten-fold higher than N2O. However, N2O is a potent greenhouse gas with a warming potential ~300 times greater than that of CO2 due to higher absorbtivity of infrared radiation and longer residence time in the atmosphere (~150 years for N2O). Thus, more focus needs to be on reducing N2O emissions. About two thirds of these N2O emissions originate from agriculture—with the highest percentage from fertilization. Unlike CO2, reducing N2O emissions from fertilization is reasonably achievable without significant disadvantages. These reductions in N2O emissions are achievable through promotion of a variety of best management practices (BMPs) for nitrogen (N), namely: applying the correct fertilizer source at the right rate, placement, and timing. These N management BMPs increase the percentage of N entering crop plants and reduce the amount lost to the environment. One such practice, the use of a controlled release fertilizer (polymer coated urea), has been shown to give the same or better crop yield/quality while exhibiting drastic reductions in N2O emissions in many cases. Implementing use of polymer coated urea and other best management practices is vital to conserve natural resources used in the production of N fertilizer, volatilization of reactive N in the atmosphere, and to reduce the possible impacts of N2O on global temperature. 

See more from this Division: S04 Soil Fertility & Plant Nutrition
See more from this Session: Symposium--Global Importance and Progress of Reducing Anthropogenic Emissions of Nitrous Oxide From Cropping Systems: I