This volume provides a unique collection of contributions addressing both the too much and too little sides of the nitrogen story. Building on analyses started at the 6th International Nitrogen Conference, Kampala, the book explores the idea of just enough nitrogen: sufficient for sustainable food production, but not so much as to lead to unsustainable pollution and climate problems. The range of nitrogen threats examined, solutions evaluated and science-policy analyses presented here has provided the foundation to agree the Kampala Statement-for-Action on Nitrogen in Africa and Globally, as reported in this volume.
Humanity today faces unprecedented challenges: How to feed a growing population? How to reduce air pollution, water pollution and climate change? How to handle regional differences in an era of increasing globalization? These questions are at the heart of this edited volume which examines the multi-dimensional nature of the global nitrogen challenge.While humans have massively altered the nitrogen cycle, the consequences have become polarized. Some regions have too much nitrogen, associated with pollution and wasteful use of a valuable resource, while other regions have too little nitrogen, leading to constraints on food production and depletion of soil nutrient stocks.
The volume provides a unique collection of contributions addressing both the too much and too little sides of the nitrogen story. Building on analyses started at the 6th International Nitrogen Conference, Kampala, the book explores the idea of just enough nitrogen: sufficient for sustainable food production, but not so much as to lead to unsustainable pollution and climate problems. The range of nitrogen threats examined, solutions evaluated and science-policy analyses presented here has provided the foundation to agree the Kampala Statement-for-Action on Nitrogen in Africa and Globally, as reported in this volume.
Together, the contributions in this book are now informing actions by the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI) in working with the United Nations Environment Programme and others to establish the International Nitrogen Management System (INMS). A key outcome has been to catalyse development of the first Resolution on Sustainable Nitrogen Management, as adopted by the fourth UN Environment Assembly (UNEA/EA.4/Res.14).
The work is written for researchers and policy makers and all those interested in seeing how sustainable nitrogen management can contribute to meeting many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Preface. -List of contributors. -Acronyms and abbreviations.- Just
Enough Nitrogen: Summary and Synthesis of Outcomes.- Part I Food and
Agriculture. - Long Term Trends in Agronomical and Environmental Performances
of World Cropping Systems: The Relationship between Yield and Nitrogen Input
to Cropland at the Country and Regional Scales.- A Critique of Combining
Tillage Practices and Nitrogen for Enhanced Maize Production on a Humic
Nitisol in Kenya.- Influence of Varying Rates of Fertilizers on the
Performance of Cacao (Theobroma cacao) Seedlings in the Nursery.- Assessing
Synergies and Trade-offs from Nitrogen Use in Africa.- Potential of
Extensification of European and Dutch Agriculture for a More Sustainable Food
System Focusing on Nitrogen and Livestock.- History of Rhizobia Inoculants
Use for Improving Performance of Grain Legumes Based on Experience from
Nigeria.- Producer Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices for Dry Beans and
Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Kamuli District, Uganda.- Performance of
Mwitemania bean under the influence of nitrogen-fixing Rhizobium inoculant,
water hyacinth composts and DAP fertilizer in a field infested with Aphis
fabae and Colletotrichum lindemuthianu.- Biological Nitrogen Fixation of
Pigeonpea and Groundnut: Quantifying Response across 18 Farm Sites in
Northern Malawi.- Biological Determinants of Crop Nitrogen Use Efficiency and
Biotechnological Avenues for Improvement.- Nitrogen Loss when using Organic
and Mineral Fertilizers on Soddy Podzolic Sandy-loam Soil in Central Russia.-
Sorghum Response to Nitrogen in Organic Carbon-Categorized Ferralsol and
Andosol in Uganda.- Evaluating Resource Use Efficiency and Stock Balances of
Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilizer Inputs: The Effect of Soil Supply Capacity
in Tigray (Ethiopia).- Rice Response to Nitrogen and Supplemental Irrigation
under Low Phosphorus and Potassium in Upland Production Systems in East
Africa.- Contribution of Gliricidia sepium Pruning and Fallow to Sweet Corn
(Zea mays L. var. rugosa) Yield, Nitrogen Uptake, Release Pattern and Use
Efficiency in a Humid Tropical Environment of Malaysia.- Part II Nitrogen
Impacts on Health, Ecosystems and Climate.- Further Evidence of the
Haber-Bosch Harmful Algal Bloom (HB-HAB) Link and the Risk of Suggesting
HAB Control through Phosphorus Reductions only.- Human Health Effects of
Exposure to Nitrate, Nitrite, and Nitrogen Dioxide.- Nitrogen Deposition to
Chinas Coastal Seas: Status and Ecological Impacts.- Anthropogenic Nitrogen
Loads to Freshwater: A High-Resolution Global Study.- Atmospheric Nitrogen
Deposition in Spain: Emission and Deposition Trends, Critical Load
Exceedances and Effects on Terrestrial Ecosystems.- Nitrogen Aspects of the
Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) Study for Paddy Rice Ecosystems.- Nitrous
Oxide (N2O) Emissions from Forests, Grasslands and Agricultural Soils in
Northern Spain.- Effect of Climate Change and Crop-year on the Yield and
Nitrogen Fertilizer Efficiency in Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
Production.- Part III Management Tools and Assessment.- DNMARK: Danish
Nitrogen Mitigation Assessment: Research and Know-how for a Sustainable,
Low-Nitrogen Food Production.- Farm Level Assessment of Nitrogen Use
Efficiency as part of Environmental Management.- Agroforestry and
Opportunities for Improved Nitrogen Management.- Global Nitrogen and
Phosphorus Pollution.- A First Approach to the Calculation of Nitrogen
Footprint in Lisbon, Portugal.- The INI European Regional Nitrogen Centre:
Concepts and Vision.- The INI African Regional Nitrogen Centre: Challenges
and Opportunities in Africa.- The INI South Asian Regional Nitrogen Centre:
Capacity Building for Regional Nitrogen Assessment and Management.- The INI
East Asia Regional Nitrogen Centre: Balancing Food Production and Environment
Nitrogen-related Research and Management in East Asia.- The INI North
American Regional Nitrogen Center: 20112015 Nitrogen Activities in North
America.- The Latin America Regional Nitrogen Centre: Concepts and Recent
Activities.- Part IV Conclusions and Outlook.- Global Challenges for
Nitrogen Science-Policy Interactions: Towards the International Management
System (INMS) and Improved Coordination between Multi-Lateral Environmental
Agreements.- Pre-informed Consumers on a Pre-adjusted Menu had Smaller
Nitrogen Footprints during the N2013 Conference, Kampala, than those on a
Conventional Menu.- The Kampala Statement-for-Action on Reactive Nitrogen in
Africa and Globally.- Appendix.- Index.
Prof. Mark A. Sutton is an environmental physicist based at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, in Edinburgh. An expert on atmospheric ammonia, he leads international research activities on nitrogen at the sciencepolicy interface. He is a former chair of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI) and currently directs the UNEP/GEF International Nitrogen Management System (INMS) and the UKRI Global Challenges Research Funds South Asian Nitrogen Hub.
Kate E. Mason is a professional archivist by training, based at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Edinburgh where she works in an editorial capacity as part of the International Nitrogen Coordination Team. In addition to being Managing Editor of the present volume, she was Managing Co-Editor of the Springer book, Nitrogen Deposition, Critical Loads and Biodiversity.
Dr. Albert Bleeker is an environmental scientist based at the Dutch National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). A former Director of Operations of the International Nitrogen Initiative and expert on nitrogen, atmospheric processes and critical loads, he now leads national scale analyses on nitrogen and environment.
Dr. W. Kevin Hicks is Senior Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute, based at the University of York. His research interests cover air pollution impacts on terrestrial ecosystems from local to global scales, ecosystem services, air pollution issues in developing countries, and the transfer of scientific information to the policy process. He has helped organize various workshops, including a global meeting on Nitrogen Deposition, Critical Loads and Biodiversity which was the subject of a book published by Springer (2014). He is the currently Director of the European Centre of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI).
Dr. Cargele Masso is a Senior Researcher at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) based at its Yaoundé Research Station, Cameroon. An agronomist by training, his research focuses on nutrient management for improved livelihoods. He is a former Director of INI for Africa, and currently leads the East Africa Demonstration activity of the International Nitrogen Management System, focused on Lake Victoria Basin.
Prof. N. Raghuram is the Chair of the International Nitrogen Initiative and a biotechnologist based at the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi. His research focuses on nitrogen use efficiency under the NEWS India-UK and UKRI-GCRF-SANH. He co-led the Indian Nitrogen Assessment and facilitated the UN resolution on Sustainable Nitrogen Management. He is a Steering Committee member of the UNEP-GPNM, Trustee of the Sustainable India Trust and Editor in Chief of the journal, Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants (Springer).
Dr. Stefan Reis is Head of Atmospheric Chemistry and Effects (ACE) of the UKCentre for Ecology & Hydrology, based in Edinburgh. He is an expert on integrated modelling and assessment of impacts of air pollution and climate change on human health and ecosystems. His work focuses on development and application of conceptual models to link human and ecosystem health impact assessment.
Prof. Mateete Bekunda is Chief Scientist of the Africa RISING Programs East and Southern Africa Project funded by USAID: Sustainable Intensification of Maize-based Farming Systems of East and Southern Africa, hosted by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, based at Arusha, Tanzania. He is an expert in soil fertility, former Professor of Soil Science and Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at Makerere University, and was previously INI Regional Director for Africa.
