impact of fertilizers on climate change -...
TRANSCRIPT
Impact of Fertilizers on
Climate Change
J. Scott Angle President and CEO
International Fertilizer Development Center
Wilson Dam and Nitrate #2, Anchor Legacy Assets
1950s vintage photo
• Muscle Shoals developed 70% of all fertilizer traded in the world.
• The U.S. fertilizer industry began in 1917.
HQ
IFDC Headquarters, Muscle Shoals, AL, USA
Pilot Plant
IFDC Pilot Plant
Lab photo
Lab Tour at IFDC Headquarters
classroom
International Training at IFDC Headquarters
Field demo
IFDC Demonstration Field Day - Ghana
Fertilizers have been a cause of greenhouse gas
emissions to the atmosphere but can also be the single
greatest source for remediation.
Nitrogen and carbon in the atmosphere are affected by fertilizers.
The Carbon Cycle
Source: apeuk.org
90% of all CO2
emissions
originate from
terrestrial or
aquatic sources.
24% of all CO2
emissions are
from crops,
livestock, and
forestry.
How do fertilizers affect atmospheric
CO2 concentrations?
Intensification (from
fertilizer use):
1. Reduces “virgin”
land put into
cultivation.
Plowing up tropical rainforests or prairies releases
significant amounts of soil C into the atmosphere.
Relationship Between Fertilizer Consumption,
Cultivated Land, and Land Spared
Source: Based on FAOSTAT 2017 and World Bank 2017 data
Decline in Soil Organic Matter (SOM) in African
Soils as a Function of Time and CO2-equivalent
Emission
Nigeria Year 1986 1994 1998
Soil organic C (%) 1.2 0.65 0.6
Decline in SOC (t/ha) 9.9 10.8
CO2-equivalent (t/ha) 36.3 39.6
Annual emission
(t/ha/year)
4.5 3.3
Burkina Faso Year 1994 1998 2004
Soil organic C (%) 0.55 0.31 0.28
Decline in SOC (t/ha) 4.32 4.86
CO2-equivalent (t/ha) 15.8 17.8
Annual emission
(t/ha/year)
4.0 1.8
Sources: Bostick et al. (2007) and Ogunwole and Ogunleye (2005)
How do fertilizers affect atmospheric
CO2 concentrations?
Intensification (from
fertilizer use):
2. Removes CO2 from
atmosphere and
sequesters C in
soil.
- 70.0
- 60.0
- 50.0
- 40.0
- 30.0
- 20.0
- 10.0
0.0
10.0
20.0
Fert
ilize
r
Man
ure
Deposi
tion
Fixatio
n
Sed
imenta
tion
Pro
ductio
n
Resi
due
s
Leaching
Gase
ous
Losse
s
Ero
sion
Tot
al
Balance Factors
kg
/ha
K2O
P 2O5
N
Lack of fertilizer reduces biomass production. Conversely,
use of fertilizers results in greater biomass production
and SOM content – or C sequestration.
Low SOM
High SOM
Effect of Fertilizer and Organic Matter
Management on Maize Yield
Source: IFDC
Nitrogen Cycle
Mineral N fertilizers contribute about 748 million t of N as CO2-equivalents, or 1.6% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
N2O is released from
wet or flooded (rice)
soils.
N2O and NO are 265
times more “potent” as
greenhouse gases
compared to CO2.
Technologies that
reduce N2O
volatilization are
urgently needed –
beyond current enzyme
inhibitors.
Direct Contribution of Mineral N Fertilizer and Manure
Consumption to Emissions of N2O, NO, and NH3
N Emission Sources
Nitrous Oxide Nitric Oxide Ammonia
Em
iss
ion
(m
illi
on
t N
/ye
ar)
0
1
2
3
4
5
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
N Fertiliser
Manure
(Tg
N/y
ea
r)
N losses to the atmosphere are best controlled
by the 4R’s.
• Right source
• Right rate
• Right time
• Right place
Urea Deep Placement
Mean N2O and NO Emission and Emission
Factor (EF) for Flooded Rice
Treatment
Rice (flooded)
(g N/ha-1) EF (%)
Control 0.48
Broadcast 1.66 0.0024
UDP 1.23 0.0015
Comparison of Nitrate Release from Urea
With and Without Nitrification Inhibitors
Source: Singh, 2010
693
778
326
915 944
439
0
200
400
600
800
1000
Day 61 Day 89 Day 131
mg
N/P
lan
t
Effect of MNs on the Dynamics of Nitrogen Uptake by Soybean
NPK NPK + micronutrients
Micronutrients (Zn, B, Cu, S)
Source: Dimkpa et al., 2017
Conclusions
Agriculture is (and has been) a major source of
increased greenhouse gases.
But agriculture can be an important solution to
global climate change by:
Intensifying yields on land currently under
production – which reduces the need to bring
new/virgin land into production.
Increasing yields (intensification) to sequester
CO2 in soil as soil organic matter.
Utilization of current (4R’s) and future
management techniques to prevent N losses to
atmosphere.