Multiscale Nitrogen Emission and Its Impacts

Dear Colleagues,

Nitrogen is an essential element for plant growth, but it is tightly coupled with other nutrients (e.g., carbon, phosphorous) that influence biological productivity and the structure and functioning of ecosystems in the long run. Since the pre-industrial era, the global nitrogen cycle has been altered due to the expansion of agricultural lands, biomass burning, the combustion of fossil fuel, and the cultivation of leguminous crops that carry out biological nitrogen fixation. “Nitrogen cascade” has been raised as an issue by previous scientists as a substantial amount of reactive nitrogen has been introduced into ecosystems. Anthropogenic perturbation of the global nitrogen cycle contributed approximately two-thirds of the annual flux of reactive nitrogen into the atmosphere in the early 21st century, including oxides of nitrogen (NO_x), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and ammonia (NH₃). These nitrogen-containing gases remain a matter of great concern to human health and the environment. Specifically, NO_x can cause detrimental effects on human health and crop productivity through catalyzing the photochemical formation of ground-level ozone; N₂O is the third important greenhouse gas after CO₂ and CH₄ causing global warming; NH₃ releasing from manure production and nitrogen fertilizer application neutralizes acidic species such as SO₂ and NO_x to form atmospheric aerosols (PM_2.5) that can reduce visibility and threaten human health and life expectancy. Meanwhile, more NH₄⁺ deposition due to increased NH₃ in the atmosphere has altered soil and water chemistry (e.g., eutrophication, acidification) and exacerbated biodiversity loss in all ecosystems. Additionally, the excess reactive nitrogen leaching and runoff from soils to riverine and marine systems can result in nitrogen losses, defined as indirect emissions. Thus, in order to sustain human and environmental health, it is essential to have a complete quantification of these N-containing gases and their effects on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

The main research topics of interest to this Special Issue are:

• Measuring multiscale nitrogen emissions using ground instruments, aircrafts, and satellites;
• Estimating human-induced nitrogen losses based on bottom-up (e.g., process-based models, empirical models, and inventory) and top-down (inversion models) approaches;
• Quantifying agricultural and industrial N₂O emission and its warming effect at site, regional, and global scales;
• Estimating agricultural and industrial NO_x and NH₃ emissions and their effects on environmental and human health at site, regional, and global scales;
• Reducing nitrogen losses via improved management skills in agricultural practices, industrial processing, transportation, and waste.

Dr. Rongting (Tina) Xu
Dr. Naiqing Pan
Guest Editors

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