N2O Case Study

Farming with an excess of nitrogen levels can cause much harm on the ecosystems and makes it difficult for the nature to handle to excess levels. Does high nitrogen levels also affect the boundary of land use? Does farming used in ice free lands also have an issue of high nitrogen levels?

For many years farmers have been using nitrogen as a fertilizer, but recently runoff from big farms are triggering sudden explosions of marine algae capable of disrupting ocean ecosystems. Farmers are using way too much fertilizer and fertilizer runoff needs stopped or at least slowed/decreased.

During World War 1 scientists discovered a process which involved taking the nitrogen from the air and turning it into usable ammonia. Most of the ammonia acquired by this process has been used as fertiliser. Upon evaporation, the ammonia proceeds to turning into acid rain. A few attempts have been made to control agricultural nitrogen emissions however, no steps have been taken to regulate agricultural ammonia emissions. Ammonia emissions also come from animal feeding operations. When the ammonia rises into the air and then falls back to the ground, it is broken into nitric and nitrogen acids which can kill plants and fish.

Nitrate levels that stimulate prolific weed growth should be avoided. Increasing nitrate levels signals organic pollution, and measures should be taken to reduce this input. However, high nitrate levels can be a sign that nitrification (conversion of ammonia to nitrate by certain bacteria) is occurring which is helping to reduce the levels of toxic ammonia. Nitrate is known to accumulate to high levels in recirculation systems as an end-product of nitrification. Anoxia is a lack of oxygen in a waterway caused by excessive nutrient growth (when the ‘algal blooms’ begin to decompose it removes oxygen from the water often resulting in the deaths of aquatic animals and a strong odour and a colour change of the

The authors cite appropriate literatures to support their study. First, they cite previous studies conducted between 2000s and 2012s to illustrate the effect of ozone pollution on grassland system and overall environment. Then they point out that studies on ozone effects on clover was mostly conducted during 1970s to mid-1990s, which has a different ozone condition compared with current situation. Thus, an updated experiment under recent ozone condition, which can be more accurate to represent current and near-future ozone conditions, is needed. This study cited enough amount of literatures and the insertions of them are

Nutrients are very important to the life of many species, and are continuously cycled through the biogeochemical cycles with the help of plants and animals. Nitrogen is a required nutrient in plants because it is needed for chlorophyll and DNA (Aber 1992). Phosphorus gives energy to animals. Working in unison the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles move nutrients throughout soil into plants, microbes, and animals, and then back into the soil once the animals die (Pellerin 2006). The carbon cycle plays a critical role in forest watersheds, because it makes up all organisms, such as bacteria and humans. The carbon cycle aids in photosynthesis, which is very important to plants in a watershed. The carbon and oxygen cycles work in unison during photosynthesis and in the decomposition of plants. When working in harmony the

Scope: This question will be answered after nitrogen data collected by the University of South Florida is analyzed, along with data received from last year 's weather reports. The Tampa Bay Estuary Program is testing nitrates in a similar manner, in that they are monitoring the use of fertilizers and its effect on run off and water pollution. With contact with various estuary protection agencies and marine preservation organizations, the collaboration of other data will be incorporated in this investigation and present additional information that will be involved. This holds significant value, as it is proving or attempting to prove how rainwater can increase the levels of storm water drainage leading to increased nitrogen levels. Especially in wetlands and estuaries where there is a delicate ecosystem

Groundwater pollution is a prominent problem in most areas of the world. High nitrate concentrations have been identified as one of the main culprits of groundwater pollution. Agriculture is a primary anthropogenic source involved in the spreading and distribution of nitrates in rural areas. China is considered one of the largest in terms of agricultural production. As the population of China increased over time, the recycling of plant nutrients could no longer renew the loss of nutrients from harvesting. The famine between 1960 and 1970 caused radical changes when it came to policies about population control and large efforts were made to increase agricultural yields. This was encouraged by increasing the application rate of chemical fertilizers, especially ones that were nitrogen based (Emteryd, Lu and Nykyist, 1998). However, higher irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer inputs results in decreased water and nitrogen use efficiency (Hu, Li, and Chen, 2010). Currently China is the leading producer of rice, wheat onion cabbage and the second largest producer of corn (See Appendix). Presently the average annual nitrogen fertilizer application is 200 kg N/ha in China (Zhang, Xu, XIaomin, Dong and Ballantine, 2013). As a result of this, China unsurprisingly suffers from large amounts of nitrate pollution in its groundwater, especially in northern China. The main focus of this paper will therefore be on the North China Plain and the provinces surrounding the Yangtze River as

Ammonia is most likely to injure plants if you don't known what you're doing. Using ammonia is especially risky if you're unaware of the pH of the soil and water that you're using, and if you don't know the exact concentration of ammonia that you're applying. Concentrations as low as 3.5 parts per million are toxic to seedlings. (See References 2, p. 25) Also, according to the University of California, applying ammonia too close to the plant and not deep enough can also result in plant injury. (See References 4) You might be better off and more successful when using a commercial fertilizer to promote plant growth.

Nitrogen makes up about 80% of the air we breathe, and it is found in all living things. Nitrate and nitrite enter the water from human and animal waste , decomposing organic material, and runoff of fertilizer from lawns and crops. Nitrogen appears in water as nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia. The class average for nitrate is 0.16 and the class average for nitrite is 0.25. The nitrate Q value was 98. There is no Q value for nitrite. The Indiana average for the nitrate test is 12.32 mg/L. These tests are conducted to test if the water is safe to drink and also healthy. Nitrate levels above 40 ppm and nitrite levels above 3.3 ppm are considered unsafe for drinking water. Unpolluted waters usually have a nitrate level below 4 ppm. If

Nitrate is commonly written as NO3 and is vital to all living organisms. It is mostly common with plants because it serves as a plant nutrient and it also helps plants produce seeds (4). Nitrates in freshwater have a direct effect on fish and aquatic life. It may cause the environment to be harsh for fish to live in. Aquatic life such as Algae and other plants use nitrates as source of food. Large amounts of algae can cause extreme measures in dissolved oxygen. Algae and other plants can produce and generate oxygen during the day, but at night will decrease at low levels and this will result in large numbers of bacteria feeding on dead algae or other plants. In water quality, there are to processes known as Eutrophication and Anoxia The process in which a body of water requires high concentration of nutrients especially nitrates. As the

NaCl caused an increase in plant height with low and medium concentrations and a decrease with the highest concentration, in both measurement periods. No significant effect was observed in the number of leaves or leaf area with low concentration, while a decrease was noticed for each, with two higher concentrations and in both measurement periods.

The nitrogen in the digestate might be converted to nitrous oxide (N2O), a GHG even more potent than CH4, after application to soil. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) task force on greenhouse inventories emission factor for direct N2O emissions from organic fertilizers is 0.01 kg N2O–N per kilogram of applied N where each kilogram of N2O–N equates to 44/14 g of N2O (IPCC, 2006). Direct N2O emissions from field application of digestate were estimated in this manner and added as a GHG burden. Emissions from transporting digestate to the field assumed the digestate was dewatered by centrifuge to 30 wt% solids.

Although the researchers found increased concentrations in NO3-N, NH3-N, Cl and organic nitrogen initially, data suggested that seepage rates decreased over time. These researchers also stated that “biological sealing of unlined animal manure lagoons in coarse-textured soils will take place over a period of time”. However a recommendation was made stating that unlined lagoons in areas of high water tables and coarse textured soils should not be installed. This hypothesis is also corroborated by Phillips et al. (1983), but in a much more primitive study. These researchers also found that loamy soils were sealed much more effectively and consistently than coarser material. A study confirming this hypothesis by Culley et al. (1989) observed waste from a beef production unit being deposited in an unlined lagoon. The surrounding soil characteristics are coarse sand environments, with the lagoon being constructed below the normal water table, although prior to waste deposition the bottom of the lagoon was unsaturated. The researchers observed that two weeks after initiation of waste addition to the lagoon, the hydraulic conductivity of the bottom layer decreased to 10-8 m/s, or as the authors suggest effectively sealed. The evidence was also backed up by chloride concentrations, a conservative element, seeing significant decreases in the surrounding soil after two weeks as well. The final results indicated that the

When it comes to water its pretty much what feeds life. Water is the essential to any living organism on this plant. If we did not have water life would not exist. It todays world it is very hard to eliminate the bad and create the good. Agriculture disrupts all freshwater systems hugely from their pristine states. The former reductionist concept of pollution was of examining individual effects of particular substances on individual taxa or sub-communities in freshwater systems, an essentially Eco toxicological concept. It is now less useful than a faster approach that treats the impacts on the system as a whole and includes physical impacts such as drainage and physical modification of river channels and modification of the catchment as well as nutrient, particulate and biocide pollution. The fertilized soils and livestock can be significant sources of gaseous, nitrogen-based compounds like ammonia and nitrogen oxides. Ammonia can be harmful to aquatic life if large amounts are deposited to surface waters.