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Nitrogen and Climate Change pp 49–68Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Nitrous Oxide Sources

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Abstract

As human impacts on the global nitrogen cycle grew rapidly from the industrial revolution onwards, human-induced nitrous oxide emissions also increased. Today, so-called ‘natural sources’ still account for 60 per cent of worldwide emissions each year, but the human-induced component is becoming an ever-larger part of the global budget1. An estimated 16 million tonnes of nitrogen are emitted each year as nitrous oxide (nitrous oxide-N), with around 10–12 million tonnes coming from natural sources and a further 6–8 million tonnes arising from human activities (Table 4.1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Edinburgh, UK

    Dave Reay (Professor of Carbon Management and Assistant Principal, Global Environment & Society)

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  1. Dave Reay
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© 2015 Dave Reay

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Reay, D. (2015). Nitrous Oxide Sources. In: Nitrogen and Climate Change. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137286963_5

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