Journal article
Beef and coal are key drivers of Australia's high nitrogen footprint
X Liang, AM Leach, JN Galloway, B Gu, SK Lam, D Chen
Scientific Reports | NATURE PORTFOLIO | Published : 2016
DOI: 10.1038/srep39644
Abstract
Anthropogenic release of reactive nitrogen (Nr; all species of N except N 2) to the global nitrogen (N) cycle is substantial and it negatively affects human and ecosystem health. A novel metric, the N footprint, provides a consumer-based perspective for Nr use efficiency and connects lifestyle choices with Nr losses. Here we report the first full-scale assessment of the anthropogenic Nr loss by Australians. Despite its â € clean and green' image, Australia has the largest N footprint (47 kg N cap â '1 yr â '1) both in food and energy sectors among all countries that have used the N-Calculator model. About 69% of the Australia's N footprint is attributed to food consumption and the associated..
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Awarded by Meat and Livestock Australia
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank Justin Kitzes for the environmentally extended input-output analysis and Drs N. Andy Cole, Julian Hill, Stephen Wiedemann, Des Rinehart for their advice on NUE of Australia's livestock. We thank Drs Robert Norton, John Angus and Richard Eckard for comments of crop and pasture NUE. We thank Drs Murray Unkovich and DF Herridge for their suggestion of Australia's N fixation. Authors also acknowledge the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI) for bringing attention to the N-Print project as an official activity, the University of Melbourne for the research Scholarship, the Meat and Livestock Australia, Discovery Early Career Researcher Award, The Australian Research Council (DE170100423), Australia-China Joint Research Centre - Healthy soils for sustainable food production and environmental quality for financial support.