It’s Possible to Reduce Fertilizer Emissions by 80 Percent Before 2050New research quantifies the fertilizer lifecycle and outlines various ap...
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network
New research quantifies the fertilizer lifecycle and outlines various approaches to make the industry more sustainable.
It’s well known that fertilizer use is a culprit in greenhouse gas emissions, but now we have a sense of how much and when emissions are triggered.
Photography by Shutterstock.
Fertilizer. It’s a major contributor of greenhouse gases, accounting for roughly two percent of global emissions and 10 percent of agriculture’s environmental footprint.
But now, a group of researchers from the U.K. has built a roadmap that quantifies the source of emissions and outlines what reduction methods are possible. The study, published in Nature Food, found that two-thirds of all greenhouse gas emissions take place after fertilizers are applied onto cropland, while one-third of emissions result from fertilizer production. A combination of technical, agricultural and policy interventions in both areas, however, could reduce emissions by as much as 80 percent by 2050, the study found.
Researchers say increasing the efficiency of fertilizer use is the single most effective strategy to reduce emissions. Precision agriculture, the timing of application, using improved plant breeds that better utilize fertilizer and adopting improved irrigation methods are outlined as ways to reduce emissions by nearly 50 percent.
It’s well known that fertilizer use is a culprit in greenhouse gas emissions, but now we have a sense of how much and when emissions are triggered.
Photography by Shutterstock.
SOURCE:https://modernfarmer.com/2023/02/its-possible-to-reduce-fertilizer-emissions-by-80-percent-before-2050/
Media
Taxonomy
- Fertilizers
- Fertilizer
- Fertilizers and Pesticides
- Fertilizer