Agriculture and the Nitrogen Cycle
Assessing the Impacts of Fertilizer Use on Food Production and the Environment
344 pages
6 x 9
Book Description
Nitrogen is an essential element for plant growth and development and a key agricultural input-but in excess it can lead to a host of problems for human and ecological health. Across the globe, distribution of fertilizer nitrogen is very uneven, with some areas subject to nitrogen pollution and others suffering from reduced soil fertility, diminished crop production, and other consequences of inadequate supply.
Agriculture and the Nitrogen Cycle provides a global assessment of the role of nitrogen fertilizer in the nitrogen cycle. The focus of the book is regional, emphasizing the need to maintain food and fiber production while minimizing environmental impacts where fertilizer is abundant, and the need to enhance fertilizer utilization in systems where nitrogen is limited. The book is derived from a workshop held by the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) in Kampala, Uganda, that brought together the world's leading scientists to examine and discuss the nitrogen cycle and related problems. It contains an overview chapter that summarizes the group's findings, four chapters on cross-cutting issues, and thirteen background chapters.
The book offers a unique synthesis and provides an up-to-date, broad perspective on the issues of nitrogen fertilizer in food production and the interaction of nitrogen and the environment.
Contents
List of Figures and Tables
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
PART I. Overview
Chapter 1. Nitrogen Fertilizer: An Essential Component of Increased Food, Feed and Fiber Production
PART II. Crosscutting Issues
Chapter 2. Crop, Environmental, and Management Factors Affecting Nitrogen Use Efficiency
Chapter 3. Emerging Technologies to Increase the Efficiency of Use of Fertilizer Nitrogen
Chapter 4. Pathways of Nitrogen Loss and Their Impacts on Human Health and the Environment
Chapter 5. Societal Responses for Addressing Nitrogen Fertilizer Needs: Balancing Food Production and Environmental Concerns
PART III. Low-input Systems
Chapter 6. Improving Fertilizer Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through an Ecosystem-based Approach
Chapter 7. Nitrogen Dynamics in Legume-based Pasture Systems
Chapter 8. Management of Nitrogen Fertilizer in Maize-based Systems in Subhumid Areas of Sub-Saharan Africa
Chapter 9. Integrated Nitrogen Input Systems in Denmark
PART IV. High-input Systems
Chapter 10. Rice Systems in China with High Nitrogen Inputs
Chapter 11. Using Advanced Technologies to Refine Nitrogen Management at the Farm Scale: A Case Study from the U.S. Midwest
Chapter 12. Impact of Management Systems on Fertilizer Nitrogen Use Efficiency
PART V. Interactions and Scales
Chapter 13. Fertilizer Nitrogen Use Efficiency as Influenced by Interactions with Other Nutrients
Chapter 14. An Assessment of Fertilizer Nitrogen Recovery Efficiency by Grain Crops
Chapter 15. Pathways and Losses of Fertilizer Nitrogen at Different Scales
Chapter 16. Current Nitrogen Inputs to World Regions
PART VI. Challenges
Chapter 17. Challenges and Opportunities for the Fertilizer Industry
Chapter 18. The Role of Nitrogen in Sustaining Food Production and Estimating Future Nitrogen Fertilizer Needs to Meet Food Demand
Chapter 19. Environmental Dimensions of Fertilizer Nitrogen: What Can Be Done to Increase Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Ensure Global Food Security?
Appendix
List of Contributors
SCOPE Series List
SCOPE Executive Committee 2001–2004
Index
