Abstract. Three different nitrogen (N) fertiliser types, ammonium nitrate, urea and urea coated with a urease inhibitor (Agrotain®), were applied at standard rates (70 kg N ha−1) to experimental plots in a typical and intensively managed grassland area at the Easter Bush Farm Estate (Scotland). The nitrogen use efficiency of the fertilisers was investigated as well as nitrogen losses in the form of nitrous oxide fluxes (N2O) and ammonia (NH3) during fertilisation events in the 2016 and 2017 growing seasons. Nitrous oxide was measured by the standard static chamber technique and analysed using Bayesian statistics. Ammonia was measured using passive samplers combined with the Flux Interpretation by Dispersion and Exchange over Short Range (FIDES) inverse dispersion model. On average, fertilisation with ammonium nitrate supported the largest yields and had the highest nitrogen use efficiency, but as large spatial and seasonal variation persisted across the plots, yield differences between the three fertiliser types and zero N control were not consistent. Overall, ammonium nitrate treatment was found to increase yields significantly (p value < 0.05) when compared to the urea fertilisers used in this study. Ammonium nitrate was the largest emitter of N2O (0.76 % of applied N), and the urea was the largest emitter of NH3 (16.5 % of applied N). Urea coated with a urease inhibitor did not significantly increase yields when compared to uncoated urea; however, ammonia emissions were only 10 % of the magnitude measured for the uncoated urea, and N2O emissions were only 47 % of the magnitude of those measured for ammonium nitrate fertiliser. This study suggests that urea coated with a urease inhibitor is environmentally the best choice in regards to nitrogen pollution, but because of its larger cost and lack of agronomic benefits, it is not economically attractive when compared to ammonium nitrate.

Trapezoidal integration by linear interpolation of data points is by far the most commonly used method of cumulative flux calculations of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) in studies that use flux chambers; however, this method is incapable of providing accurate uncertainty estimates. A Bayesian approach was used to calculate N 2 O emission factors (EFs) and their associated uncertainties from flux chamber measurements made after the application of nitrogen fertilisers, in the form of ammonium nitrate (AN), urea (Ur) and urea treated with Agrotain® urease inhibitor (UI) at four grassland sites in the UK. The comparison between the cumulative fluxes estimated using the Bayesian and linear interpolation methods were broadly similar (R 2 = 0.79); however, the Bayesian method was capable of providing realistic uncertainties when a limited number of data points is available. The study reports mean EF values (and 95% confidence intervals) of 0.60 ± 0.63, 0.29 ± 0.22 and 0.26 ± 0.17% of applied N emitted as N 2 O for the AN, Ur and UI treatments, respectively. There was no significant difference between N 2 O emissions from the Ur and UI treatments. In the case of the automatic chamber data collected at one site in this study, the data did not fit the log-normal model, implying that more complex models may be needed, particularly for measurement data with high temporal resolution.

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&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Abstract.&lt;/strong&gt; Three different nitrogen fertilizer types, ammonium nitrate, urea and urea coated with a urease inhibitor (Agrotain&lt;sup&gt;&amp;#174;&lt;/sup&gt;), were applied at standard rates (70&amp;#8201;kg&amp;#8201;N&amp;#8201;ha&lt;sup&gt;&amp;#8722;1&lt;/sup&gt;) to experimental plots in a typical and intensively managed grassland area at Easter Bush Farm Estate (Scotland). The nitrogen use efficiency of the fertilisers was investigated as well as nitrogen losses in the form of nitrous oxide fluxes (N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O) and ammonia (NH&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt;) and during fertilisation events in the 2016 and 2017 growing seasons. Nitrous oxide was measured by the standard static chamber technique and analysed using Bayesian statistics. Ammonia was measured using passive samplers combined with the FIDES inverse dispersion model. On average, fertilisation with ammonium nitrate supported largest yields and had the highest nitrogen use efficiency, but as large spatial and seasonal variation persisted across the plots, yield differences between the three fertilizer types and zero N control were not consistent. Overall, ammonium nitrate treatment was found to increase yields significantly (p-value&amp;#8201;&lt;&amp;#8201;0.05) when compared to the urea fertilisers. Ammonium nitrate was the largest emitter of N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O (0.76&amp;#8201;% of applied Nr) and the urea was the largest emitter of NH&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; (16.5&amp;#8201;% of applied Nr). The urea coated with a urease inhibitor did not significantly increase yields; however, ammonia emissions were substantially smaller (90&amp;#8201;%) when compared to the uncoated urea and N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emissions were also smaller (47&amp;#8201;%) when compared with ammonium nitrate fertiliser. This study suggests that urea coated with a urease inhibitor is environmentally the best choice in regards to nitrogen pollution, but because of its larger cost and lack of agronomic benefits, it is not economically attractive when compared to ammonium nitrate.&lt;/p&gt;

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Emergy analysis has become a widely used tool for comprehensively assessing systems, offering valuable insights into their environmental and economic sustainability. This study employs a bibliometric analysis, between the years 2000 to 2022, to explore the advancements in evaluating agricultural systems using emergy and identify the primary challenges in this field. The analysis reveals a growing annual scientific production, with prominent journals, as determined by their Impact Factors, publishing a substantial number of these assessments. Furthermore, the study delves into the analysis of emergy indicators across various agricultural production systems, including crop, livestock, and integrated crop-livestock (mixed) systems. The findings demonstrate the efficacy of these indicators in distinguishing the sustainability of different production types. These results not only inform researchers about critical considerations to be taken into account but also provide an overview of the current state of research in this field.

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