1 results
11 - Nitrogen flows and fate in rural landscapes
- from Part III - Nitrogen flows and fate at multiple spatial scales
-
- By Pierre Cellier, INRA, France, Patrick Durand, INRA, France, Nick Hutchings, University of Aarhus, Ulli Dragosits, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Mark Theobald, Technical University of Madrid/Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Jean-Louis Drouet, INRA, France, Oene Oenema, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Albert Bleeker, Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands, Lutz Breuer, Institute for Landscape Ecology and Resources Management, Tommy Dalgaard, Aarhus University, Sylvia Duretz, INRA, France, Johannes Kros, Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Benjamin Loubet, UMR Environm & Grandes Cultures, Joergen Eivind Olesen, Aarhus University Department of Agroecology and Environment, Philippe Mérot, INRA, France, Valérie Viaud, INRA, France, Wim de Vries, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Mark A. Sutton, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
- Edited by Mark A. Sutton, NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, UK, Clare M. Howard, NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, UK, Jan Willem Erisman, Gilles Billen, Albert Bleeker, Peringe Grennfelt, Hans van Grinsven, Bruna Grizzetti
-
- Book:
- The European Nitrogen Assessment
- Published online:
- 16 May 2011
- Print publication:
- 14 April 2011, pp 229-248
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
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.