Using too much fertilizer is bad for crops AND bad for climate!Using too much fertilizer is a very bad idea. It doesn't help crops,
and in fact can be harmful to them. Excess fertilizer runs off and
contributes to river and stream contamination and a new study shows that
it is bad for the climate too! Helping farmers around the globe apply more precise amounts of
fertilizer nitrogen is a great objective that can improve crop yields,
reduce pollution, and combat climate change. Nitrogen-based fertilizers spur greenhouse gas emissions by stimulating microbes in the soil to produce more nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide is the third most important greenhouse gas, behind carbon dioxide and methane. Agriculture accounts for about 80 percent of human-caused nitrous oxide emissions worldwide, which have increased substantially in recent years due to increased nitrogen fertilizer use. "Our motivation is to learn where to best target agricultural efforts to slow global warming," says MSU scientist Phil Robertson. Robertson is also director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Kellogg Biological Station Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) site, one of 25 such NSF LTER sites around the globe, and senior author of the paper. Image of large truck spreading fertilizer via Shutterstock. Read more at Research.gov.Read more at Research.gov. 2014©. Copyright Environmental News Network |