Nitrogen: A Story of Food, Fuel and Fiber … · Nitrogen: A Story of Food, Fuel and Fiber. Rime of...

2009 James R. Arnold Lecture

sponsored by

The Division of Physical Sciences andThe California Space Grant Consortium

University of California, San Diego

May 8, 2009

Nitrogen: A Story of Food, Fuel and Fiber

Rime of the Ancient MarinerSamuel Taylor Coleridge

Water, water everywhere,And how the boards did shrink.Water, water everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.

Nitrogen: A Story of Food, Fuel and Fiber

Important Things about Nitrogen

υ Unreactive N is N2

78% of the atmosphere; no use to us

υ Reactive N (Nr) is all the other N compoundsnitrate, organic N, ammonium, etc………biologically and chemically reactive

υ All life requires nitrogenthink proteins

υ Earth has >10,000,000 biological speciesthey all need nitrogen to survive, but…..less than 1,000 species can convert N2 to Nr

υ So N is the limiting nutrient to many ecosystemssurvival is limited by availability of Nmany ecosystems do not have enough

The Main Topics

υ Nr creation through timeIncluding a most important invention

υ Nr fate during energy and food productionBy accident and on purpose

υ The Nitrogen CascadeOne thing leads to another

υ From Science to SolutionIntegrated Nr management

Are your feet's too big?A metric to determine your N footprint.

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Galloway et al., 2003

Timeline of Global Nr Creation by Human Activity 1850 to 200518th-19th Centuries: a time of basic discoveries about nitrogen

N-Nutrient BNF

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Popu

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nsTimeline of Global Nr Creation by Human Activity 1850 to 2005

1898: World population is 1.6 billion people. In this year….

Local InterestLa Jolla population reaches

~300 people.

International InterestSpanish-American War: The

USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana harbor, Cuba, killing 266 men. This event helps lead the United States to declare war on Spain.

Scientific InterestMarie and Pierre Curie

announce discovery of a substance they call radium.

Junk Food InterestCaleb Bradham names his soft

drink Pepsi-Cola.


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Timeline of Global Nr Creation by Human Activity 1850 to 20051898: where did the world get its nitrogen……….

Nitrogen SourcesNatural creation

lightningBNF

Anthropogenic Miningguanonitrate deposits

Anthropogenic creationcultivationother


Legumes

Nr

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The world is running out of N

Timeline of Global Nr Creation by Human Activity 1850 to 20051898: A challenge to the chemists of the world………

“England and all civilised nations stand in deadly peril of not having enough to eat. As mouths multiply, food resources dwindle.

Land is a limited quantity, and the land that will grow wheat is absolutely dependent on difficult and capricious natural phenomena... I hope to point a way out of the colossal dilemma.

It is the chemist who must come to the rescue of the threatened communities.

It is through the laboratory that starvation may ultimately be turned into plenty... The fixation of atmospheric nitrogen is one of the great discoveries, awaiting the genius of chemists.”

— Sir William CrookesPresidential Address to the British Association for the Advancement of Science 1898. Published in Chemical News, 1898, 78, 125.Legumes

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Nr

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Timeline of Global Nr Creation by Human Activity 1850 to 20051908: Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch rose to the challenge.

N2 + 3H2--> 2NH3

Haber Bosch

Legumes


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Timeline of Global Nr Creation by Human Activity 1850 to 2005What if the Haber-Bosch process had not been discovered?

N2 + 3H2--> 2NH3

Haber Bosch

Population withHaber-Bosch

Process

Nr

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N y

rN

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, Tg

N y

r--11

Legumes

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Timeline of Global Nr Creation by Human Activity 1850 to 2005Global population would be about 50% of current.

Population withHaber-Bosch

Process

Population withoutHaber-Bosch

Process

Erisman et al., 2003

Nr

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Legumes

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Timeline of Global Nr Creation by Human Activity 1850 to 2005But, it was discovered, and much of society has greatly benefited.

Haber Bosch

Fossil Fuel

Total Nr Production• Fossil fuel combustion, 25 Tg N yr-1

• Cultivation-induced BNF, 40 Tg N yr-1

• Haber-Bosch process• Fertilizer 100 Tg N yr-1

• Industrial feedstock 23 Tg N yr-1

Nr

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Legumes

Total

Natural Range,terrestrial {

Take Away Message #1

For most populated regions of the world, humans create more reactive nitrogen through food and energy production than all the other biological species combined.

Haber-Bosch process was arguably the most important invention human society has ever had.

The world would be a very different place if the Haber-Bosch process was not invented 100 years ago.

Now let’s examine Nr fate during energy and food production

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Timeline of Global Nr Creation by Human Activity 1850 to 2005140 Tg Nr is created from N2 each year to produce food

Haber Bosch

Total

But People only need 13 Tg N.And they consume 30 Tg N.

Why do we create 140 Tg N?

Nr

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Legumes

Fossil Fuel

Crop production:- Crop type - Cropped area - Management

Groundwater & surface waters

N inputs:

N fertilizer

& BNF

Consumed Crops

NH4+ NO3

- DON Npart

NH3 N2O NOX N2

NH4+ NO3

- DON Npart

Nitrogen: A Very Leaky Element

Atmosphere

Agriculture

20%

Oenema, 2009

And What About Meat?

Global Human Population and Meat Production

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Humans, millions Beef/Veal Pig Chicken Total Meat

FAOSTAT, 2008

Crop production:- Crop type - Cropped area - Management

Consumed Animal

Products

Groundwater & surface waters

N inputs:

N fertilizer

& BNF

Animal production:- Animal species - Animal number- Management

Consumed Crops

NH4+ NO3

- DON Npart

NH3 N2O NOX N2

NH4+ NO3

- DON Npart

NH3 N2O NOX N2

Nitrogen: A Very Leaky Element

NH3 N2O NOX N2

Atmosphere

feed

Agriculture

20%

10%

Oenema, 2009

Nitrogen in Internationally Traded Fertilizer, Grain and Meat

Fertilizer, 31 Tg N



Fertilizer, 31 Tg N

Grain, 11 Tg N



Fertilizer, 31 Tg N

Grain, 11 Tg N

Meat, 0.7 Tg N

N Commodity Cascade: Making a Dutch Pig

M. Burke, Stanford Univ.; FAO, 2008

ENVIRONMENT

Nr

NrN2

FoodProduction

Menzel & D'Aluisio, 2005

N2 ENVIRONMENT

Nr

Nr

NrN2

EnergyProduction

FoodProduction



Essentially all the reactive N created is lost to the environment, where some portion accumulates in soils, waters, biomass and the atmosphere.

Meat production is growing regionally and globally,and has a profound impact on Nr creation.

International transport of N-commodities is more efficient at distributing N globally than air or water.

Now, let’s look at impact of Nr on environment

ENVIRONMENT

Too Much Nitrogen; Too Many Consequences

Smog, Haze

Eutrophication

Forest Die-back Acidification

Global WarmingOzone Hole

John Aber

ENVIRONMENT

Too Much Nitrogen: In a Cascade

Smog, Haze

Eutrophication

Forest Die-back Acidification

Global WarmingOzone Hole

John Aber


In addition to feeding about half of the world, anthropogenic reactive nitrogen

• increases tropospheric ozone and particulate matter,• increases the acidity of soils, streams and lakes,• changes the ecosystem productivity, • increases tropospheric global warming potential,• decreases stratospheric ozone.

One nitrogen atom can contribute to each of these environmental changes, in sequence.

These changes have profound consequences for ecosystem and human health.

Now, what can be done--can the science support a solution?

From Science to SolutionThe over all goal is to optimize nitrogen’s benefits while minimizing its problems.

Produce food with minimal Nr loss to environmentProduce energy with no Nr loss to environment

StrategyBe clear about the scienceIdentify control points at both ends of Nr streamTake advantage of existing policiesLink to broader issues.

Control Points in the Nitrogen Cycle

Galloway et al, 2008

Global Nr Creation190 Tg N/yr

ENVIRONMENT

Nr

Nr

Nr

Nitrogen: The Good, the Bad, and the Difficult

1. Control Fossil Fuel Combustion2. Increase N Uptake Efficiencies in Crops & Animals 3. manage manure4. Improve Sewage Treatment

N2

N2

ENVIRONMENT

Nr

Nr

Nr


1. Control Fossil Fuel Combustion2. Increase N Uptake Efficiencies in Crops & Animals3. Manage manure4. Improve Sewage Treatment

N2

N2

ENVIRONMENT

Nr

Nr

Nr


1. Control Fossil Fuel Combustion2. Increase N Uptake Efficiencies in Crops & Animals 3. Manage manure4. Improve Sewage Treatment

N2

N2

Control Points in the Nitrogen Cycle

Galloway et al, 2008


At the global scale, there are several actions that can be taken to decrease both Nr creation, and Nr losses to the environment.

• fossil fuel combustion• fertilizer uptake• feed retention• sewage treatment

If all were taken, there would be a 25% decrease in Nr loss to environment. But since most Nr is produced in the developing world, there are other factors:

• food security• poverty

Now let’s look at our feet.

The Nitrogen Footprint ModelCan be used to:

-provide people with knowledge of how their resource use results in N-related environmentalimpacts.

-provide industry with knowledge on how they can alter production practices to decrease N losses.

-provide nations with an understanding of where N is introduced, where it is lost, and how it could be managed in an integrated manner.

The doodah man, Grateful Dead

The US Nitrogen FootprintSteps Towards Development--what is consumed?

-food-energy-goods-services

--How much N is created?-is it embedded or virtual N

--Where is N released?-your watershed or someone else's

--What are the consequences?-local, regional or global.

--How should N be managed?

Overall Nitrogen Footprint Model

N Footprint Team: A. Bleeker, M. Burke, J. Erisman, J. Galloway, J. Kitzes, R. Kohn, A. Leach

N-Print: USA

Calculator is question driven

amount of different types of food consumed

size of house; heating system; sewage system

type of car; miles driven

purchase of goods (keyed to annual income)

use of services (keyed to annual income)

http://www.efseurope.co.uk/toes/images/stories/Foot.gif

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FoodConsumption

USA Per-Capita Nitrogen Footprint

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USA Per-Capita Nitrogen Footprint

N Footprint for the US

Each person consumes 7 kg N in food per year.

Most is lost to the watershed that the person resides in.

Another ~28 kg N per year is consumed virtually by food production.

Most is lost to the watershed and airshed that other people reside in

Another ~10 kg N per year is lost to environment due to housing, mobility, and use of goods and services.

The Total N Footprint for US is ~45 kg N/person/yr

The Nitrogen FootprintCalculator Will

-calculate how much N is released to the environmentdue to their food, energy and materials consumption.

-determine where the N is released.

-to determine their contribution to the N Cascade.

-to provide management options to decrease the footprint for individuals, producers and governments

US and NL(August 2009)

NL(December 2009)

Another Aspect of N-Related Problems in the Environment

One week’s worth of food

Lots of Water (salt)Not the Right Type (fresh)


Lots of Water (salt)Not the Right Type (fresh)

Lots of Nitrogen (N2)Not the Right Type (Nr)

The other side of the nitrogen problem,

Too little nitrogen in too many regions

Another Aspect of N-Related Problems in the Environment


Concluding ThoughtsHumans now dominate Nr introduction into environment.There is a rapid rate of environmental change that is magnified by the N cascade.There are large parts of the world that suffer from N deficiency.There are actions that can be taken now to address nitrogen-related issues in the environment; additional actions are required.Both types of actions are stymied by the slow rate of policy response.

Nitrogen: Time to Diminish the Cascade

Nitrogen: A Story of Food, Fuel and Fiber … · Nitrogen: A Story of Food, Fuel and Fiber. Rime of...

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