Executive summary

Nature of the problem

• Nitrogen (N) budgets of agricultural systems give important information for assessing the impact of N inputs on the environment, and identify levers for action.

Approaches

• N budgets of agro-ecosystems in the 27 EU countries are established for the year 2000, considering N inputs by fertiliser application, manure excretion, atmospheric deposition and crop fixation, and N outputs by plant uptake, gaseous emissions, mineralisation, leaching and runoff.

• Country N budgets for agro-ecosystems are based on the models INTEGRATOR, IDEAg, MITERRA and IMAGE. Fine geographic distribution is depicted with the former two models, which have higher spatial resolution. INTEGRATOR is the only available model for calculating non-agricultural terrestrial N budgets systems.

Key findings/state of knowledge

• For EU-27, the models estimate a comparable total N input in European agriculture, i.e. 23.3–25.7 Mton N yr−1, but N uptake varies largely from 11.3–15.4 Mton N yr−1, leading to total N surpluses varying from 10.4–13.2 Mton N yr−1. Despite this variation, the overall difference at EU-27 is small for the emissions of NH3 (2.8–3.1 Mton N yr−1) and N2O (0.33–0.43 Mton N yr−1) but estimates vary largely at a regional scale. The estimated sum of N leaching and runoff at EU-27 is roughly equal to the sum of NH3, N2O and NOx emissions to the atmosphere, but estimates vary by a factor two, from 2.7 to 6.3 Mton N yr−1.

• […]

Executive summary

Nature of the problem

• Reactive nitrogen (Nr) is of fundamental importance in biological and chemical processes in the atmosphere–biosphere system, altering the Earth's climate balance in many ways. These include the direct and indirect emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), atmospheric Nr deposition and tropospheric ozone formation (O3), both of which alter the biospheric CO2 sink, Nr supply effects on CH4 emissions, and the formation of secondary atmospheric aerosols resulting from the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ammonia (NH3).

• Human production and release of Nr into the environment is thus expected to have been an important driver of European greenhouse balance. Until now, no assessment has been made of how much of an effect European Nr emissions are having on net warming or cooling.

Approaches

• This chapter summarizes current knowledge of the role of Nr for global warming. Particular attention is given to the consequences of atmospheric Nr emissions. The chapter draws on inventory data and review of the literature to assess the contribution of anthropogenic atmospheric Nr emissons to the overall change in radiative forcing (between 1750 and 2005) that can be attributed to activities in Europe.

• The use of Nr fertilizers has major additional effects on climate balance by allowing increased crop and feed production and larger populations of livestock and humans, but these indirect effects are not assessed here.

Executive summary

Nature of the problem

• The transfer of nitrogen by either farm management activities or natural processes (through the atmosphere and the hydrological network) can feed into the N cascade and lead to indirect and unexpected reactive nitrogen emissions.

• This transfer can lead to large N deposition rates and impacts to sensitive ecosystems. It can also promote further N2O emission in areas where conditions are more favourable for denitrification.

• In rural landscapes, the relevant scale is the scale where N is managed by farm activities and where environmental measures are applied.

Approaches

• Mitigating nitrogen at landscape scale requires consideration of the interactions between natural and anthropogenic (i.e. farm management) processes.

• Owing to the complex nature and spatial extent of rural landscapes, experimental assessments of reactive N flows at this scale are difficult and often incomplete. It should include measurement of N flows in the different compartments of the environment and comprehensive datasets on the environment (soils, hydrology, land use, etc.) and on farm management.

• Modelling is the preferred tool to investigate the complex relationships between anthropogenic and natural processes at landscape scale although verification by measurements is required. Up to now, no model includes all the components of landscape scale N flows: farm functioning, short range atmospheric transfer, hydrology and ecosystem modelling.

Executive summary

Nature of the problem

• Biodiversity is the variability among living organisms, from genes to the biosphere. The value of biodiversity is multifold, from preserving the integrity of the biosphere as a whole, to providing food and medicines, to spiritual and aesthetic well-being.

• One of the major drivers of biodiversity loss in Europe is atmospheric deposition of reactive nitrogen (Nr).

Approaches

• This chapter focuses on Nr impacts on European plant species diversity; in particular, the number and abundance of different species in a given area, and the presence of characteristic species of sensitive ecosystems.

• We summarise both the scientific and the policy aspects of Nr impacts on diversity and identify, using a range of evidence, the most vulnerable ecosystems and regions in Europe.

Key findings/state of knowledge

• Reactive nitrogen impacts vegetation diversity through direct foliar damage, eutrophication, acidification, and susceptibility to secondary stress.

• Species and communities most sensitive to chronically elevated Nr deposition are those that are adapted to low nutrient levels, or are poorly buffered against acidification. Grassland, heathland, peatland, forest, and arctic/montane ecosystems are recognised as vulnerable habitats in Europe; other habitats may be vulnerable but are still poorly studied.

• It is not yet clear if different wet-deposited forms of Nr (e.g. nitrate, NO3− versus ammonium, NH4+) have different effects on biodiversity. However, gaseous ammonia (NH3) can be particularly harmful to vegetation, especially lower plants, through direct foliar damage.

• […]

Executive summary

Nature of the problem

• Environmental problems related to nitrogen concern all economic sectors and impact all media: atmosphere, pedosphere, hydrosphere and anthroposphere.

• Therefore, the integration of fluxes allows an overall coverage of problems related to reactive nitrogen (Nr) in the environment, which is not accessible from sectoral approaches or by focusing on specific media.

Approaches

• This chapter presents a set of high resolution maps showing key elements of the N flux budget across Europe, including N2 and Nr fluxes.

• Comparative nitrogen budgets are also presented for a range of European countries, highlighting the most efficient strategies for mitigating Nr problems at a national scale. A new European Nitrogen Budget (EU-27) is presented on the basis of state-of-the-art Europe-wide models and databases focusing on different segments of Europe's society.

Key findings

• From c. 18 Tg Nr yr−1 input to agriculture in the EU-27, only about 7 Tg Nr yr−1 find their way to the consumer or are further processed by industry.

• Some 3.7 Tg Nr yr−1 is released by the burning of fossil fuels in the EU-27, whereby the contribution of the industry and energy sectors is equal to that of the transport sector. More than 8 Tg Nr yr−1 are disposed of to the hydrosphere, while the EU-27 is a net exporter of reactive nitrogen through atmospheric transport of c. 2.3 Tg Nr yr−1.

• The largest single sink for Nr appears to be denitrification to N2 in European coastal shelf regions (potentially as large as the input of mineral fertilizer, about 11 Tg N yr–1 for the EU-27); however, this sink is also the most uncertain, because of the uncertainty of Nr import from the open ocean.

Executive summary

Nature of the problem

• A large part of agricultural soils in Europe are exposed to high N inputs because of animal manure and chemical fertiliser use. Large parts of the European natural soils are exposed to high atmospheric N deposition.

• High N inputs threaten soil quality, which may negatively affect food and biomass production and biodiversity and enhance emissions of harmful N compounds from soils to water and the atmosphere.

Approaches

• An overview of the major soil functions and soil threats are presented, including a description of the objectives of the European Soil Strategy.

• The major N threats on soil quality for both agricultural and natural soils are related to changes in soil organic content and quality, soil acidification, and loss of soil diversity. These threats are described using literature.

Key findings/state of knowledge

• Generally, N has a positive effect on soil quality of agricultural soils, because it enhances soil fertility and conditions for crop growth. However, it generally has a negative effect on soil quality of natural soils, because it results in changes in plant diversity.

• Soil acts as a filter and buffer for N, and protects water and atmosphere against N pollution. However, the filter and buffer capacity of soils is frequently exceeded by excess of N in both agricultural and natural soils, which results in emission of N to the environment.

• […]

Executive summary

Nature of the problem

• The future effects of nitrogen in the environment will depend on the extent of nitrogen use and the practical application techniques of nitrogen in a similar way as in the past. Projections and scenarios are appropriate tools for extrapolating current knowledge into the future. However, these tools will not allow future system turnovers to be predicted.

Approaches

• In principle, scenarios of nitrogen use follow the approaches currently used for air pollution, climate, or ecosystem projections. Short-term projections (to 2030) are developed using a ‘baseline’ path of development, which considers abatement options that are consistent with European policy. For medium-term projections (to 2050) and long-term projections, the European Nitrogen Assessment (ENA) applies a ‘storyline’ approach similar to that used in the IPCC SRES scenarios. Beyond 2050 in particular, such storylines also take into account technological and behavioral shifts.

Key findings/state of knowledge

• The ENA distinguishes between driver-oriented and effect-oriented factors determining nitrogen use. Parameters that cause changes in nitrogen fixation or application are called drivers. In a driver-based approach, it is assumed that any variation of these parameters will also trigger a change in nitrogen pollution. In an effect-based approach, as the adverse effects of nitrogen become evident in the environment, introduction of nitrogen abatement legislation requiring the application of more efficient abatement measures is expected. This approach needs to rely on a target that is likely to be maintained in the future (e.g. human health). Nitrogen abatement legislation based on such targets will aim to counter any growth in adverse environmental effects that occur as a result of increased nitrogen application.

• […]

Air pollution is known to have a range of effects, including those on human health, crop production, soil acidification, visibility and corrosion of materials. This Chapter focuses on the two major impacts of air pollution that have most strongly influenced the development of policies to reduce emissions: those on the natural environment and on human health.

In broad terms, the major impacts of air pollution on the natural environment can be placed into three categories, representing different spatial scales:

• Local impacts of major industrial or urban sources, for example, instances of damage to ecosystems and crop production close to emission sources. Historically, the biggest impacts have been through the direct effects of sulphur dioxide and particles – either around large point sources such as power stations and smelters, or in urban areas with domestic coal burning – and the accumulation of toxic metals in soils around smelters. However, a range of other pollutants from specific local sources can have direct impacts on vegetation.

• Regional impacts of ozone, which is a significant global air pollutant in terms of impacts on vegetation, since high concentrations are found in rural areas.

• Regional impacts of long-Range Transport and deposition of sulphur and nitrogen, which have effects on soil acidity, nutrient availability and water chemistry, and hence on ecosystem composition and function.

The Chapter first considers direct effects of air pollution on vegetation and the visible symptoms of damage that can result, illustrating the spatial variation in damage by reference to national and local studies in the Netherlands.