Abstract

AbstractThe rapidly changing global climate due to increased emission of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) is leading to an increased occurrence of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, and heatwaves. The three major GHGs are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). The major natural sources of CO2 include ocean–atmosphere exchange, respiration of animals, soils (microbial respiration) and plants, and volcanic eruption; while the anthropogenic sources include burning of fossil fuel (coal, natural gas, and oil), deforestation, and the cultivation of land that increases the decomposition of soil organic matter and crop and animal residues. Natural sources of CH4 emission include wetlands, termite activities, and oceans. Paddy fields used for rice production, livestock production systems (enteric emission from ruminants), landfills, and the production and use of fossil fuels are the main anthropogenic sources of CH4. Nitrous oxide, in addition to being a major GHG, is also an ozone-depleting gas. N2O is emitted by natural processes from oceans and terrestrial ecosystems. Anthropogenic N2O emissions occur mostly through agricultural and other land-use activities and are associated with the intensification of agricultural and other human activities such as increased use of synthetic fertiliser (119.4 million tonnes of N worldwide in 2019), inefficient use of irrigation water, deposition of animal excreta (urine and dung) from grazing animals, excessive and inefficient application of farm effluents and animal manure to croplands and pastures, and management practices that enhance soil organic N mineralisation and C decomposition. Agriculture could act as a source and a sink of GHGs. Besides direct sources, GHGs also come from various indirect sources, including upstream and downstream emissions in agricultural systems and ammonia (NH3) deposition from fertiliser and animal manure.

Highlights

  • (microbial respiration) and plants, and volcanic eruption; while the anthropogenic sources include burning of fossil fuel, deforestation, and the cultivation of land that increases the decomposition of soil organic matter and crop and animal residues

  • The global climate is changing rapidly. This leads to the increasing occurrence of extreme weather events such as droughts and floods

  • The major cause of these events is the rising temperature in the Earth’s atmosphere, which is driven by increasing emissions of climate-relevant greenhouse gases (GHGs) that trap heat in the atmosphere

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Summary

Chapter 1

M. Zaman, K. Kleineidam, L. Bakken, J. Berendt, C. Bracken, K. Butterbach-Bahl, Z. Cai, S. X. Chang, T. Clough, K. Dawar, W. X. Ding, P. Dörsch, M. dos Reis Martins, C. Eckhardt, S. Fiedler, T. Frosch, J. Goopy, C.-M. Görres, A. Gupta, S. Henjes, M. E. G. Hofmann, M. A. Horn, M. M. R. Jahangir, A. Jansen-Willems, K. Lenhart, L. Heng, D. Lewicka-Szczebak, G. Lucic, L. Merbold, J. Mohn, L. Molstad, G. Moser, P. Murphy, A. Sanz-Cobena, M. Šimek, S. Urquiaga, R. Well, N. Wrage-Mönnig, S. Zaman, J. Zhang, and C. Müller

Bakken Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Aas, Norway
Dawar Department of Soil and environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan
Introduction
Mohn Laboratory for Air Pollution & Environmental Technology, Empa Dübendorf, Dübendorf, Switzerland
Impact of Ammonia on GHG Emissions
Findings
Aim of the Book
Full Text
Published version (Free)

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