Nitrogen in current European policies

Oenema, O.; Bleeker, A.; Braathen, Nils Axel; Budnakova, M; Bull, K. R.; Čermák, Pavel; Geupel, Markus; Hicks, Kevin; Höft, Robert; Kozlova, Natalia; Leip, Adrian; Spranger, Till; Valli, L.; Velthof, G.L.; Winiwarter, Wilfried

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511976988.007

Cited by 55 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Environmental policies for nitrogen in the European Union are mostly established by means of directives (Oenema et al, 2011). These impose environmental objectives to be achieved by the Member States and provide flexibility to meet them (e.g., regarding timing, monitoring, and enforcement of measures).…”

Section: European Union Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two other important EU directives to protect aquatic ecosystems against eutrophication are the Water Framework Directive (established in 2000) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (established in 2008), which apply to all sources of nutrients (Oenema et al, 2011). The focus of these directives is to maintain or establish the ecological integrity of aquatic ecosystems without imposing direct restrictions on the use or losses of N from agricultural sources.…”

Section: European Union Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The focus of these directives is to maintain or establish the ecological integrity of aquatic ecosystems without imposing direct restrictions on the use or losses of N from agricultural sources. In addition, there are multilateral agreements to protect the marine environment (Oenema et al, 2011) of, among others, the Northeast Atlantic (OSPAR Convention; established in 1992) and the Baltic Sea (HELCOM Convention;established in 2000). Protection strategies include targets and programs to reduce emissions of N and phosphorus (P).…”

Section: European Union Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Emissions of NH 3 are regulated by the EU National Emission Ceilings Directive (NEC; established in 2001) with the purpose of protecting the environment and human health against risks from acidification, eutrophication, and ground-level ozone contamination of air quality (Oenema et al, 2011). The current national ceilings of NH 3 are a result of political negotiation rather than being derived from the critical N deposition loads for ecosystems.…”

Section: European Union Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Losses of Ammonia and Nitrate from Agriculture and Their Effect on Nitrogen Recovery in the European Union and the United States between 1900 and 2050

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Historical trends and levels of nitrogen (N) budgets and emissions to air and water in the European Union and the United States are markedly different. Agro-environmental policy approaches also differ, with emphasis on voluntary or incentive-based schemes in the United States versus a more regulatory approach in the European Union. This paper explores the implications of these differences for attaining long-term policy targets for air and water quality. Nutrient surplus problems were more severe in the European Union than in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. The EU Nitrates and National Emission Ceilings directives contributed to decreases in fertilizer use, N surplus, and ammonia (NH 3 ) emissions, whereas in the United States they stabilized, although NH 3 emissions are still increasing. These differences were analyzed using statistical data for 1900-2005 and the global IMAGE model. IMAGE could reproduce NH 3 emissions and soil N surpluses at different scales (European Union and United States, country and state) and N loads in the Rhine and Mississippi. The regulation-driven changes during the past 25 yr in the European Union have reduced public concerns and have brought agricultural N loads to the aquatic environment closer to US levels. Despite differences in agro-environmental policies and agricultural structure (more N-fixing soybean and more spatially separated feed and livestock production in the United States than in the European Union), current N use efficiency in US and EU crop production is similar. IMAGE projections for the IAASTD-baseline scenario indicate that N loading to the environment in 2050 will be similar to current levels. In the United States, environmental N loads will remain substantially smaller than in the European Union, whereas agricultural production in 2050 in the United States will increase by 30% relative to 2005, as compared with an increase of 8% in the European Union. However, in the United States, even rigorous mitigation with maximum recycling of manure N and a 25% reduction in fertilizer use will not achieve the policy target to halve the N export to the Gulf of Mexico.

show abstract

Section: European Union Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: European Union Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: European Union Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: European Union Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Losses of Ammonia and Nitrate from Agriculture and Their Effect on Nitrogen Recovery in the European Union and the United States between 1900 and 2050

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Agriculture is seen as one of the main N pollution sources through the diffuse emission of ammonia (NH 3 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) to air and nitrate (NO 3 − ) to surface and ground waters [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen Related Diffuse Pollution from Horticulture Production—Mitigation Practices and Assessment Strategies

Cameira

Mota

2017

Horticulturae

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:Agriculture is considered one of the main nitrogen (N) pollution sources through the diffuse emissions of ammonia (NH 3 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) to the atmosphere and nitrate (NO 3 − ) to water bodies. The risk is particularly high in horticultural production systems (HPS), where the use of water and fertilizers is intensive and concentrated in space and time, and more specifically, in the case of vegetable crops that have high growth rates, demanding an abundant supply of water and nitrogen forms. Therefore, to comply with the EU environmental policies aimed at reducing diffuse pollution in agriculture, there is the need for mitigation practices or strategies acting at different levels such as the source, the timing and the transport of N. HPS are often well suited for improvement practices, but efficient and specific tools capable of describing and quantifying N losses for these particular production systems are required. The most common mitigation strategies found in the literature relate to crop, irrigation and fertilization management. Nevertheless, only the success of a mitigation strategy under specific conditions will allow its implementation to be increasingly targeted and more cost effective. Assessment methods are therefore required to evaluate and to quantify the impact of mitigation strategies in HPS and to select the most promising ones.

show abstract