Nitrogen Budgets
Thomas Kätterer, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
Published online: October 2011
DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0003189.pub2
Abstract
The compilation of inputs and outputs of nitrogen across the boundaries of a system defined in time and space comprises a
nitrogen budget. This budget contains information about internal nitrogen fluxes within the system and can be used as an efficiency
indicator or policy instrument. Nitrogen cycling at global and ecosystem scale is described as well as transformations of
nitrogen between different chemical forms occurring in nature. Chemical and biological processes governing the distribution
and transformation of nitrogen within ecosystems are presented including ammonification, nitrification, denitrification and
plant uptake. Examples for agricultural systems are shown for illustrating how different nitrogen fluxes can be selected for
calculating nitrogen budgets depending on definitions of system boundaries. Environmental consequences due to human interactions
with the nitrogen cycle are also presented and discussed.
Key Concepts:
-
The compilation of inputs and outputs of nitrogen across the boundaries of a system defined in time and space comprises a
nitrogen budget.
-
Nitrogen is an essential element of all living matter and, in addition to carbon, the main building block of many macromolecules,
such as proteins and nucleic acids.
-
Although nitrogen makes up about 78% of the air we breathe it must be transformed into reactive chemical forms for being available
for vascular plants.
-
The amount of nitrogen cycled within ecosystems is about one order of magnitude larger than the amounts crossing ecosystem
boundaries.
-
Generally, more than 90% of the nitrogen needed for primary production is recycled through within ecosystems.
-
Production of mineral fertilisers is essential for feeding a growing human population.
-
Human impacts on nitrogen cycling are significant.
-
Environmental concerns due to human interactions with the nitrogen cycle are mainly related to the presence of nitrate in
water and emissions of nitrogen oxides contributing to stratospheric ozone depletion and to the greenhouse effect.
-
Farmgate nitrogen balances, defined as the difference between nutrient input and output at farm level, are increasingly used
as environmental performance indicators or as policy support tools for emission control.
Keywords: cycling; fluxes; nitrogen; processes; transformations
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