Elsevier

Atmospheric Environment

Volume 47, February 2012, Pages 92-103
Atmospheric Environment

Reactive nitrogen emissions from crop and livestock farming in India

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.11.026Get rights and content

Abstract

The rapid increase in anthropogenic nitrogen emissions to the atmosphere is matter of concern for the environment, as these may lead to photochemical air pollution, reduced visibility, eutrophication of surface waters, changes in biodiversity, acid rain, stratospheric ozone depletion, and global warming. In this study, ambient emissions of reactive nitrogen (ammonia and nitrous oxide) from animal and crop farming are analyzed for the base year 2003. This objective was achieved by the systematic development of a spatially resolved emissions inventory on a Geographic Information System (GIS) platform. Emissions of ammonia (NH3) and nitrous oxide (N2O) were estimated: (i) from livestock; 1705 Gg/yr and 214 Gg yr−1 and (ii) fertilizer applications; 2697 Gg yr−1 and 326 Gg yr−1. These estimated emissions were compared and contrasted with global, U.S., and European emissions of reactive nitrogen; emissions from India were second only to China. From the spatially resolved emission inventory, it was observed that the state of Uttar Pradesh has the highest NH3 emission (522 Gg yr−1) followed by the state of Maharashtra (425 Gg yr−1) both from animal and crop farming. Similarly the State of Uttar Pradesh has the highest N2O emission (70 Gg yr−1) followed by the state of Maharashtra (47 Gg yr−1).

Highlights

► Agricultural operations emit significant amounts of reactive nitrogen compounds. ► Estimating nitrogen compounds emissions in India from agricultural sources. ► Comparison of agricultural nitrogen compounds emissions in India with global, U.S., and European emissions. ► Suggestions for developing an appropriate regulatory framework to control these emissions.

Introduction

With its triple covalent bond, nitrogen gas (N2) is very unreactive, accounting for nearly all of the nitrogen present at the surface of the Earth. Other N compounds are present only in trace concentrations; however, these trace N species play a vital role for life. Biologically-active, photochemically-reactive, and radiatively-active nitrogen compounds in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere are collectively referred to as reactive nitrogen (Nr) (Galloway et al., 2003; EPA, 2011). The Nr includes inorganic chemically-reduced forms of nitrogen [e.g., ammonia (NH3) and ammonium ion (NH4+)], inorganic chemically-oxidized forms of N [e.g., nitrogen oxides (NOx), nitric acid (HNO3), nitrous oxide (N2O), nitrogen pentaoxide (N2O5), nitrous acid (HONO), peroxy acetyl compounds such as peroxyacytyl nitrate (PAN), and the nitrate ion (NO3)] and organic compounds (e.g., urea, amines, amino acids, and proteins). Over the past few decades, human activities leading to the production of reactive nitrogen from diatomic nitrogen (N2) have exceeded the natural rate of nitrogen fixation on land at the global scale (Galloway et al., 2004; Schlesinger, 2009; EPA, 2011). Although nitrogen (N) is a major nutrient that governs growth and reproduction of organisms, accumulations of reactive nitrogen from various sources have profound effects on air and water quality, leading to human disease and respiratory failure (Bell et al., 2004; Aneja et al., 2006a, 2006b, 2008a, 2009; Singh and Singh, 2008; Erisman et al., 2008; EPA, 2011).

The world's population has grown from about 1.5 billion at the beginning of the 20th century to 7.0 billion today. This population increase has been accompanied by the advent and growth of “intensive” agriculture, with associated impacts to the environment (Aneja et al., 2001, 2008a, 2009; Erisman et al., 2008). Over the past few decades, the number of domestic animals in the world has increased faster than the human population. Between 1960 and 2000, while the human population roughly doubled, the number of domestic animals roughly tripled (Oenema, 2006). Increases in livestock populations are particularly large in developing countries such as India and China (Gerber et al., 2005; Galloway et al., 2008).

Greater food requirements to meet nutritional requirements of a growing population result in agricultural emissions of NH3, and N2O, as well as losses of nitrate to water bodies due to leaching and runoff. Once released to the atmosphere by either man-made (anthropogenic) or natural processes, these Nr compounds undergo transformation in various reactions e.g., in gas phase (Crutzen, 1970, 1979; NRC, 1991) and gas-to-particle conversion (Baek and Aneja, 2004; Baek et al., 2004; and Baek et al., 2006; Behera and Sharma, 2010a, 2011a, 2011b), transport associated with wind, and finally wet and dry deposition (Fig. 1). Reactive nitrogen lost from agricultural systems can enter groundwater, streams, lakes, estuaries, and coastal waters where the Nr can undergo further transformation in a wide range of biotic and abiotic processes (Schlesinger, 2009). Unusual accumulations of reactive N can perturb the environment with a host of beneficial and detrimental effects, for example increased crop yields from nitrogen fertilizer or decreased human health by the respiration of nitrogen-derived aerosols (Aneja et al., 2009). Substantial evidence points to perturbation of the global nitrogen cycle, but the exact quantification of the magnitude and spatial distribution of this perturbation is presently unknown.

Table 1 presents global estimates for sources and sinks of N2O and NH3. Emissions from agricultural activities, both crop and animal, are known to contain reactive nitrogen compounds, especially NH3 and N2O. N2O is one of the important greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere (Bouwman et al., 1995); it has approximately 300 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide (Olivier et al., 1998; Shindell et al., 2009). It is now also the major species contributing to the depletion of stratospheric ozone (Ravishankara et al., 2009). Ammonia is the most abundant alkaline constituent in the atmosphere (Aneja et al., 2008a, 2008b, 2008c), where it regulates atmospheric acidity (Brasseur et al., 1999). In addition, NH3 is also an important source of atmospheric aerosols (PMfine), because it facilitates gas-to-particle conversion (Baek and Aneja, 2004; Baek et al., 2004; Sharma et al., 2007; Behera and Sharma, 2010b). Its deposition contributes to soil acidification through oxidation of the deposited ammonia to acidic compounds (Roelofs et al., 1987).

While developed nations are concerned with reducing emissions of Nr to the environment, developing nations are far away from such initiatives. This paper provides estimates of NH3 and N2O emissions from farming (both crop and livestock) in India using emission factors with regional specificity, livestock species characteristics, and regional inventories of the types of fertilizers applied. Emissions to the atmosphere via waste management systems for livestock (non-dairy cattle, dairy cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, asses and mules, camels, and poultry) and fertilizer usage are estimated. This paper uses a Geographic Information System (GIS) to provide spatially resolved state-wide estimates of NH3 and N2O emissions from animal farming and fertilizer applications in India for the base year 2003. We compare and contrast these estimates with the estimates from previous studies in other regions of the world.

Section snippets

Study area and methodology

The methodology adopted in this study has three steps. In the first step, identification of the sources responsible for Nr emissions and collection of source information including location, livestock population (of nine livestock types) and fertilizer consumption (four fertilizers types) were undertaken. In the second step, emission factors for different sources were adopted on the basis of literature appropriate for the region. In the final step, an emission inventory for the district level

Scenarios of the sources in India

The livestock population of India is large, and animals play an important role in the agricultural economy even though they often receive inadequate nourishment. In 2001 there were an estimated 219.6 million cattle, more than in any other country and representing about 15% of the world's total. For 2003, India's livestock population as a proportion of the world's total is: cattle 13.5%, buffaloes 55.1%, sheep 5.7%, goats 16.1%, pigs 1.8% and horses 1.4% (Annual Report, 2003) (//dms.nic.in/ami/home.htm

Summary and conclusions

This study estimates the emissions of atmospheric reactive nitrogen, NH3 and N2O, which are produced from animal farming and fertilizer application for agricultural purposes in India. For NH3 we suggest that among livestock, cattle contributed highest emission, inasmuch as 56.1% of the total emissions of NH3 stems from cattle, followed by buffalo (23.6%). For N2O, cattle also contributed highest proportion (42.3%), followed by buffalo (28.1%) and goats (15.5%), relative to the total pollution

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the organizers of 5th International Nitrogen Conference, New Delhi, India for their support and encouragement in the preparation of this manuscript. We thank Ms. Priya Pillai, Air Quality Research Program, North Carolina State University in the preparation of this manuscript. We acknowledge financial support from the Cary Institute for the color graphics.

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