Summary
This meta-analysis evaluates the emission factor currently used in European inventories to estimate soil NOx emissions from agricultural nitrogen inputs and manure management. By synthesising data from 65 temperate-climate studies, the authors calculated a revised emission factor (average 0.60%) that differs only marginally from the existing default value (1.33%), though large uncertainties persist. The paper demonstrates that agricultural soil and forest emissions are becoming proportionally more important as non-agricultural NOx sources decline across Europe, and highlights substantial geographical variation in emission patterns between Eastern and Western Europe.
UK applicability
The findings are directly applicable to UK atmospheric emissions inventories and agricultural policy, as the UK is among the Western European nations included in the analysis. The study's recommendation to retain the current emission factor until more data accumulate suggests UK agricultural emissions calculations remain largely unchanged, though the identified data gaps underscore the need for UK-specific soil NOx measurement studies.
Key measures
Emission factor (EF) for NOx from soils (expressed as percentage); sectoral NOx emission reductions by country and source category (1990–2017); proportion of agricultural NOx to total European NOx emissions
Outcomes reported
The study evaluated the emission factor (EF) currently used to calculate soil NOx emissions from European agricultural soils and manure management, and assessed the relative contribution of agricultural versus non-agricultural and forest soil NOx sources across 42 European countries. It analysed trends in total and sectoral NOx emissions between 1990 and 2017.
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