Global soil‐derived ammonia emissions from agricultural nitrogen fertilizer application: A refinement based on regional and crop‐specific emission factors

Abstract

Ammonia (NH 3 ) emissions from fertilized soils to the atmosphere and the subsequent deposition to land surface exert adverse effects on biogeochemical nitrogen (N) cycling. The region‐ and crop‐specific emission factors (EFs) of N fertilizer for NH 3 are poorly developed and therefore the global estimate of soil NH 3 emissions from agricultural N fertilizer application is constrained. Here we quantified the region‐ and crop‐specific NH 3 EFs of N fertilizer by compiling data from 324 worldwide manipulative studies and focused to map the global soil NH 3 emissions from agricultural N fertilizer application. Globally, the NH 3 EFs averaged 12.56% and 14.12% for synthetic N fertilizer and manure, respectively. Regionally, south‐eastern Asia had the highest NH 3 EFs of synthetic N fertilizer (19.48%) and Europe had the lowest (6%), which might have been associated with the regional discrepancy in the form and rate of N fertilizer use and management practices in agricultural production. Global agricultural NH 3 emissions from the use of synthetic N fertilizer and manure in 2014 were estimated to be 12.32 and 3.79 Tg N/year, respectively. China (4.20 Tg N/year) followed by India (2.37 Tg N/year) and America (1.05 Tg N/year) together contributed to over 60% of the total global agricultural NH 3 emissions from the use of synthetic N fertilizer. For crop‐specific emissions, the NH 3 EFs averaged 11.13%–13.95% for the three main staple crops (i.e., maize, wheat, and rice), together accounting for 72% of synthetic N fertilizer‐induced NH 3 emissions from croplands in the world and 70% in China. The region‐ and crop‐specific NH 3 EFs of N fertilizer established in this study offer references to update the default EF in the IPCC Tier 1 guideline. This work also provides an insight into the spatial variation of soil‐derived NH 3 emissions from the use of synthetic N fertilizer in agriculture at the global and regional scales.

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