Abstract
Nitrogen compounds emitted from the field are usually considered in Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) of agricultural products or processes. The environmentally most important of these N emissions are ammonia (NH3), nitrous oxide (N20) and nitrate (N03). The emission rates are variable due to the influence of soil type, climatic conditions and agricultural management practices. Due to considerable financial and time efforts, and great variations in the results, actual measurements of emissions are neither practical nor appropriate for LCA purposes. Instead of measurements, structured methods can be used to estimate average emission rates. Another possibility is the use of values derived from the literature which would, however, require considerable effort compared to estimation methods, especially because the values might only be valid for the particular system under investigation.
In this paper methods to determine estimates for NH3, N20 and NO3 emissions were selected from a literature review. Different procedures were chosen to estimate NH3 emissions from organic (Horlacher &Marschner, 1990) and mineral fertilizers (ECETOC, 1994). To calculate the N2O emissions, a function derived by Bouwman (1995) was selected. A method developed by the German Soil Science Association (DBG, 1992) was adopted to determine potential NO3 emissions. None of the methods are computer-based and consequently require only a minimum set of input data. This makes them, on the one hand, transparent and easy to perform, while, on the other hand, they certainly simplify the complex processes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andersson, K.;Ohlsson, T. (1999): Life Cycle Assessment of Bread Produced on Different Scales. Int. J. LCA 4, 25–40
Audsley, E. et al. (1997): Harmonisation of Environmental Life Cycle Assessment for Agriculture.
Final Report. Concerted Action AIR3-CT94-2028. Silsoe, United Kingdom
Bach, M. (1987): Die potentielle Nitrat-Belastung des Sickerwassers durch die Landwirtschaft in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland Göttinger Bodenkundl. Ber. 93
Bouwman, A. F. (1995): Compilation of a global inventory of emissions of Nitrous Oxide. Ph.D. thesis, University of Wageningen, Netherlands
Cederberg, C. (1998): Life cycle assessment of milk production — a comparison of conventional and organic farming. SIK report No. 643. The Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology (SIK), Gothenburg, Sweden
DBG (Ed.) (1992): Strategien zur Reduzierung standort- und nutzungsbedingter Belastungen des Grundwassers mit Nitrat. Deutsche Bodenkundliche Gesellschaft (DBG), Gieβen, Germany
DVWK (Ed.) (1995): Ermittlung der Verdunstung von Land- und Wasserflächen. Deutscher Verband für Wasserwirtschaft und Kulturbau e.V. (DVWK), Bonn, Germany
ECETOC (1988): Nitrate and Drinking Water. Technical Report No. 27. European Chemical Industry Ecology & Toxicology Centre (ECETOC), Brussels, Belgium
ECETOC (1994); Ammonia Emissions to Air in Western Europe. Technical Report No. 62. European Chemical Industry Ecology & Toxicology Centre (ECETOC), Brussels, Belgium
Encel, T. (1993): Simulationsmodelle zur Stickstoffdynamik, Analyse und Vergleich. Agrarinformatik, Band 25. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany
Engels, T. (1993): Nitratauswaschung aus Getreide- und Zuckerruben-flächen bei unterschiedlichem N-Angebot. Ph.D. thesis, University of Hannover, Germany
Enquete-Kommission “Schutz der Erdatmosphäre” des Deutschen Bundestages (Ed.) (1994): Schutz der Grünen Erde. Economica Verlag, Bonn, Germany
Erisman, J.W. (1999): personal communication
Granli, T.;Bøckman, O.C. (1994): Nitrous Oxide from agriculture, Norwegian Journal of Agricultural Science, Supplement No. 12 1994. Agricultural University of Norway — Advisory Service, As, Norway
Horlacher, D.;Marschner, H. (1990): Schätzrahmen zur Beurteilung von Ammoniakverlusten nach Ausbringung von Rinderflüssigmist. Z. Pflanzenernähr. Bodenk. 153, 107–115
Houghton, J.T. et al. (Ed.) (1997): Greenhouse Gas Inventory Reporting Instructions, Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Volumes 1–3. The intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), London, United Kingdom
Hydro Agri Dülmen GmbH (Ed.) (1993): Faustzahlen für Landwirt-schaft und Gartenbau. Landwirtschaftsverlag GmbH, Münster, Germany
Isermann, K. (1990): Ammoniakemissionen der Landwirtschaft als Be-standteil ihrer Stickstoffbilanz und hinreichende Lösungsansätze zur Minderung. Bundesforschungsanstalt für Landwirtschaft (FAL), Braunschweig, Germany
Jol, A.;Kielland, G. (Ed.) (1997): Air Pollution in Europe 1997. European Environment Agency (EEA), Copenhagen, Denmark
Kaiser, E.-A. et al. (1996): What predicts nitrous oxide emissions and denitrification N-loss from European soils?. Z. Pflanzenernahr. Bodenk. 159, 541–547
Kroeze, C. (1994): Nitrous Oxide (N20) — emission inventory and options for control in the Netherlands. RIVM Report nr. 773001004. National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection (RIVM), Bilthoven, Netherlands
Kusters J.;Jenssen T. (1998): Selecting the right fertilizer from an environmental life cycle perspective. IFA 1998 Technical Conference, Marrakech, Morocco. International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA), Paris, France
Loges, R.;Wachendorf, M.;Taube, F. (2000): Scaling up of milk production data from field plot to regional farm level. Proceedings of the 2nd European Invitational Expert Seminar on Life Cycle Assessments of Food Products, The Hague, January 25–26, 1999. Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI-DLO), The Hague, Netherlands
Scheffer, B.;Ortseifen, U. (1996): Abschätzung der Nitratausträge aus der durchwurzelten Bodenzone am Beispiel der Böden Nieder-sachsens. Endbericht zum F+E-Vorhaben. Niedersächsisches Landes-amt für Bodenforschung, Bremen, Germany
Sommer, S.G. (1992): Ammonia volatilization from cattle and pig slurry during storage and after application in the field. Ph.D. thesis, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Stanners, D.;Bourdeau, P. (Ed.) (1995): Europe’s Environment — The Dobris Assessment. European Environment Agency (EEA), Copenhagen, Denmark
Umweltbundesamt (Ed.) (1997): Daten zur Umwelt. Der Zustand der Umwelt in Deutschland. Ausgabe 1997. Erich Schmitt Verlag, Berlin, Germany
Von Rheinbaben, W. (1990): Nitrogen losses from agricultural soils through denitrification — a critical evaluation. Z. Pflanzenernähr. Bodenk. 153, 157–166
Wiesler, F. (1999): Comparative Assessment of the Efficacy of Various Nitrogen Fertilizers. in: Rengel, Z. (1999): Nutrient Use in Crop Production. The Haworth Press Inc., Binghamton, USA, pp. 81–114
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brentrup, F., Küsters, J., Lammel, J. et al. Methods to estimate on-field nitrogen emissions from crop production as an input to LCA studies in the agricultural sector. Int. J. LCA 5, 349–357 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02978670
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02978670