Journal article
Intense Warming Will Significantly Increase Cropland Ammonia Volatilization Threatening Food Security and Ecosystem Health
H Shen, Y Chen, Y Hu, L Ran, SK Lam, GK Pavur, F Zhou, JE Pleim, AG Russell
One Earth | CELL PRESS | Published : 2020
Open access
Abstract
Humans, through agricultural fertilizer application, inject more reactive nitrogen (Nr) to terrestrial ecosystems than do natural sources. Ammonia volatilization is a major pathway of agricultural Nr loss. Using a process-based dynamic model, Shen et al. show that ammonia volatilization from agricultural land in the US will increase by up to 81% by the end of this century due to climate change alone, posing threats to food security, air quality, and ecosystem health, but mitigation strategies are available.
Grants
Awarded by National Science Foundation
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank Ellen Cooter (US EPA, retired) and Verel Benson (Benson Consulting) for their discussions and suggestions. This research is supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA grant no. R835880) and the National Science Foundation (NSF SRN grant no. 1444745). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the grantee and do not necessarily represent the official views of the supporting agencies. Furthermore, the US government does not endorse the purchase of any commercial products or services mentioned in the publication.