Hi My Friends: A VUELO DE UN QUINDE EL BLOG., t's summer. For many of us, summer is a time synonymous with fresh corn,
one of the major field crops produced in the United States.
Agricultural crops are studied in experiments at NSF's Kellogg Biological Station LTER site.
Credit: Julie Doll, NSF KBS LTER Site
Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (4.3 MB)
Dawn breaks over fields, some fertilized, some not, at the KBS site.
Credit: Julie Doll, NSF KBS LTER Site
Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (7.2 MB)
Credit: Julie Doll, NSF KBS LTER Site
Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (2.8 MB)
Scientists Develop New Carbon Accounting Method to Reduce Farmers' Use of Nitrogen Fertilizer
Large amounts of nitrogen fertilizer lead to nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere
It's summer. For many of us, summer is a time synonymous with fresh
corn, one of the major field crops produced in the United States.
In
2011, corn was planted on more than 92 million acres in the U.S.,
helping the nation continue its trend as the world's largest exporter of
the crop.
Corn is a nitrogen-loving plant. To achieve desired
production levels, most U.S. farmers apply synthetic nitrogen fertilizer
to their fields every year.
Once nitrogen fertilizer hits the
ground, however, it's hard to contain and is easily lost to groundwater,
rivers, oceans and the atmosphere.
"That's not good for the
crops, the farmers or the environment," says Phil Robertson, a scientist
at Michigan State University and principal investigator at the National
Science Foundation's (NSF) Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) Long-Term
Ecological Research (LTER) site.
KBS is one of 26 such NSF LTER sites across the United States and around the globe in ecosystems from forests to coral reefs.
Nitrogen
lost to the environment from agricultural fields is nitrogen not used
by crops, Robertson says. "This costs farmers money and degrades water
and air quality, with significant health, biodiversity and downstream
economic effects."
Farmers already manage fertilizer to avoid
large losses. But, to reduce losses further, it currently costs more
money than the fertilizer saves.
Robertson and colleagues are
working on a way to help make the time and expense of efforts to
mitigate fertilizer loss worthwhile. They're putting the finishing
touches on a program that would pay farmers to apply less nitrogen
fertilizer in a way that doesn't jeopardize yields. The program, called
the nitrous oxide greenhouse gas reduction methodology, is being
conducted in partnership with the Electric Power Research Institute.
"This
project is a great example of how long-term, fundamental research can
contribute practical solutions to important environmental problems of
concern in the U.S.--and ultimately around the world," says Matt Kane,
an NSF program director for LTER.
In the United States,
agriculture accounts for almost 70 percent of all nitrous oxide
emissions linked with human activity. Nitrous oxide is one of the major
gases contributing to human-induced climate change; it has a lifetime in
the atmosphere of more than 100 years. In addition, a molecule of
nitrous oxide has more than 300 times the heat-trapping effect in the
atmosphere as a molecule of carbon dioxide.
In soils, the
production of nitrous oxide through microbial activity is a natural
process. By applying large amounts of fertilizer, however, humans have
greatly increased the amount of nitrous oxide in soils. This is
particularly true when nitrogen fertilizer is added in larger amounts
than the crop needs, and when it is applied at times or in ways that
make it difficult for the crop to get the full benefit.
"Improving
the efficiency of nitrogen use for field crop agriculture holds great
promise for helping mitigate climate change," Robertson says.
The
nitrous oxide greenhouse gas reduction methodology, which is a way for
farmers to participate in existing and emerging carbon markets, recently
was approved by the American Carbon Registry and is in its final stages
of validation by the Verified Carbon Standard--two carbon market
standards that operate worldwide.
When farmers reduce their
nitrogen fertilizer use, they can use the methodology as a means of
generating carbon credits. These credits can be traded in carbon markets
for financial payments.
The scientific underpinning for the
methodology rests on decades of research Robertson and colleagues have
conducted at the KBS LTER site.
"By closely following nitrous
oxide, crop yields and other ecosystem responses to fertilizers,"
Robertson says, "we discovered that nitrous oxide emissions increase
exponentially and consistently with increasing nitrogen fertilizer use."
The
idea of the methodology is to offer ways of using less fertilizer to
produce crops. But if farmers apply less fertilizer, will their crop
production take a hit?
"Carbon credits provide an incentive to
apply fertilizer more precisely, not to reduce yields," says Robertson.
"If yields were reduced significantly, the climate effect would be nil
because a farmer somewhere else would have to use more nitrogen to make
up the yield loss, thereby generating more nitrous oxide."
The new
methodology developed at NSF's KBS LTER site was successfully used by a
Michigan farmer in Tuscola County as part of a proof-of-concept
project.
"A major value of the approach is that it is
straightforward to understand and implement," says KBS LTER scientist
Neville Millar, who co-led development of the methodology.
In addition to providing an economic incentive, the methodology is a tool farmers can apply to enhance their land stewardship.
"The
same strategies that farmers can use to minimize nitrous oxide loss
will act to reduce the loss of nitrate to groundwater and loss of other
forms of nitrogen to the atmosphere," says Millar.
Adam Diamant,
technical executive at the Electric Power Research Institute and a
co-developer of the methodology, says the new approach resulted in a
"quadruple win: for farmers, for industrial organizations that may be
required to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, for the atmosphere
and for water quality from the upper Midwest all the way to the Gulf of
Mexico."
Adds Robertson: "We're in uncharted territory with a growing global human population and unprecedented environmental change.
"Performing
the research that links environmental benefits to environmental
markets, without compromising crop yields, is crucial for feeding more
people while sustaining Earth's ecosystems."
-NSF-
Media Contacts
Cheryl Dybas, NSF (703) 292-7734 cdybas@nsf.gov
Related WebsitesNSF LTER Network: http://www.lternet.edu
NSF Kellogg Biological Station LTER Site: http://lter.kbs.msu.edu/
NSF Kellogg Biological Station LTER Site: http://lter.kbs.msu.edu/
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal
agency that supports fundamental research and education across all
fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2012, its budget
is $7.0 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly
2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF
receives over 50,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about
11,000 new funding awards. NSF also awards nearly $420 million in
professional and service contracts yearly.
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