Abstract
Agriculture is mainly responsible for ammonia (NH3) volatilisation. A common effort to produce reliable quantifications, national emission inventories, and policies is needed to reduce health and environmental issues related to this emission. Sources of NH3 are locally distributed and mainly depend on farm building characteristics, management of excreta, and the field application of mineral fertilisers. To date, appropriate measurements related to the application of fertilisers to the field are still scarce in the literature. Proper quantification of NH3 must consider the nature of the fertiliser, the environmental variables that influence the dynamic of the emission, and a reliable measurement method. This paper presents the state of the art of the most commonly used direct methods to measure NH3 volatilisation following field application of fertilisers, mainly focusing on chamber method. The characteristics and the associated uncertainty of the measurement of the most widespread chamber types are discussed and compared to the micrometeorological methods.
Highlights
Agriculture represents the major emitter of ammonia (NH3) and is responsible for the 94% of total emission in EU-28 in 2016 [1]
In the light of this, stricter regulations on the use of N in agriculture have been introduced over time. e last one, the National Emission Ceilings (NEC) Directive [13], establishes new national emission ceilings in Europe for five pollutants (sulphur dioxide, SO2; nitrogen oxides, NOx; non-methane volatile organic compounds, NMVOC; ammonia NH3; and fine particulate matter (PM2,5)) and compiles and checks the national emission inventories to compile with 2020 and 2030 reduction commitments
It can be considered as a modified dynamic chamber, where air is sucked by means of a pump and the NH3 concentration measured by a Drager gas-analysis detector tube. e NH3 flux is corrected by means of two calibration equations, for summer and winter experiments, to overcome the problem of the low air-exchange rate within the chambers (Table 2)
Summary
Agriculture represents the major emitter of ammonia (NH3) and is responsible for the 94% of total emission in EU-28 in 2016 [1]. E most appropriate measurement method should be chosen according to the specific field conditions, type of fertiliser, and the agronomic practice used for the application [29], since dissimilar results can be produced due to the variability of the abovementioned process. Several studies focused on ammonia volatilisation assessment under various conditions highlighting the strengths and the limitations of different measurement methods. With this in mind, in this paper, the state of the art of the most widespread direct methods is reported to assess NH3 emissions from fertiliser application to the field. Reviewed contributions have been selected among those who applied enclosure methods alone or in comparison with micrometeorological methods to assess NH3 emissions from fertilizer application to the field. is allowed highlighting the strength and weak points, as well as the latest developments of each approach
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
