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Assessing Synergies and Trade-Offs from Nitrogen Use in Africa

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Just Enough Nitrogen

Abstract

Fertilizer use in African agriculture is extremely low—just 4% of global fertilizer use, with an annual average of only 8 kg nutrients ha−1 in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). A major focus of a new African Green Revolution is increasing inputs of nitrogen (N) to help restore soil fertility to soils that have experienced decades of nutrient depletion. These increased inputs can be expected to increase crop productivity in most soils, and may also increase soil organic matter, particularly when added with organic inputs or crop residues, which, in turn, can lead to increased water use efficiency. The increased N inputs may also be accompanied by a decline in N use efficiency, causing increased N losses to the environment with potential impacts on water and air quality, soil pH and biodiversity. Here we briefly summarize the current state of knowledge of N dynamics in agricultural systems in SSA and the potential synergies and trade-offs that may result from increasing N inputs. As there have been fewer studies examining N cycling and losses in Africa compared to other parts of the world, it is difficult to predict confidently the magnitude of any environmental impacts associated with increased N inputs, and computer models are limited by data for model parameterization and operation. Given the potential of N losses from sewage effluent and agricultural activities to affect water quality in African coastal and aquatic environments and the potential for increased reactive N emissions and deposition to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, coordinated efforts should be made to fill these gaps.

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Acknowledgements

The INDAAF (International Network to study Deposition and Atmospheric chemistry in Africa) long-term project (http://indaaf.obs-mip.fr) is supported by the CNRS/INSU (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/ Institut National des Sciences de l’Univers), by the ACTRIS-FR research infrastructure and by the IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement). The Editors would also like to thank Dr. R. P. Raju (School of Public and Environmental Health, Hawassa University, Ethiopia) and Dr. Konka Bheemaligeswara (Department of Earth Sciences, Mekelle University, Ethiopia) for additional valuable comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, 2880 Broadway, New York, NY, 10025, USA

    Jonathan E. Hickman

  2. Earth Institute at Columbia University, New York, NY, 10025, USA

    Jonathan E. Hickman

  3. International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), c/o ICIPE Duduville Campus, Kasarani, P.O. Box 30772–00100, Nairobi, Kenya

    Shamie Zingore

  4. Laboratoire d’aérologie, UMR 5560, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, CNRS, 31400, Toulouse, France

    Corinne Galy-Lacaux

  5. International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), c/o ICIPE Duduville Campus, Kasarani, Nairobi, Kenya

    Job Kihara

  6. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Arusha, Tanzania

    Mateete Bekunda

  7. Institute for Sustainable Food Systems, University of Florida, Frazier Rogers Hall, PO Box 110570, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Cheryl A. Palm

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  2. Shamie Zingore
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  3. Corinne Galy-Lacaux
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  4. Job Kihara
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  5. Mateete Bekunda
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  6. Cheryl A. Palm
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jonathan E. Hickman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), Edinburgh Research Station, Penicuik, Midlothian, UK

    Mark A. Sutton

  2. UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), Edinburgh Research Station, Penicuik, Midlothian, UK

    Kate E. Mason

  3. National Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands

    Albert Bleeker

  4. Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK

    W. Kevin Hicks

  5. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Yaoundé Research Station, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Cargele Masso

  6. University School of Biotechnology, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi, India

    N. Raghuram

  7. UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), Edinburgh Research Station, Penicuik, Midlothian, UK

    Stefan Reis

  8. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Arusha, Tanzania

    Mateete Bekunda

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Hickman, J.E., Zingore, S., Galy-Lacaux, C., Kihara, J., Bekunda, M., Palm, C.A. (2020). Assessing Synergies and Trade-Offs from Nitrogen Use in Africa. In: Sutton, M.A., et al. Just Enough Nitrogen. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58065-0_5

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