Submit to Atmosphere Review for Atmosphere Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Agricultural Ammonia Emission and Mitigation Effects

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Biosphere/Hydrosphere/Land–Atmosphere Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 10131

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Xuejun Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University (CAU), Beijing 100193, China
Interests: atmospheric environment; wet and dry deposition; nitrogen cycling; ammonia emission reduction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Baojing Gu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Interests: nitrogen budget; nitrogen pollution mitigation; food security; cost and benefit of nitrogen use and loss; nitrogen policy

Dr. Lin Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Interests: atmospheric environment; atmospheric chemistry; ammonia emissions; nitrogen deposition; air pollution; air quality modeling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Following concerns surrounding atmospheric fine particle (PM_2.5, particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 μm) pollution, the role of ammonia (NH₃) emission mitigation in reducing PM_2.5 formation has attracted increasing attention worldwide. NH₃ is a major alkaline gas in the atmosphere and can react with sulfuric acid and nitrate acid, the oxidized products of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), and form secondary PM_2.5 as ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate. Ammonia is mainly emitted from agricultural cropland and livestock manure, with a small proportion being from non-agricultural emission. Therefore, it is extremely important to identify NH₃ emission and mitigation potentials, from both agricultural and non-agricultural sources, in order to meet the stricter future PM_2.5 environmental thresholds (e.g., 10-25 μg/m³).

Considering this scientific background, the open-access journal Atmosphere is hosting a Special Issue to showcase the most recent findings related to agricultural ammonia emission, mitigation techniques from fertilized croplands and livestock farms, and effects of ammonia mitigation on PM_2.5 reduction. This Special Issue is, of course, an appropriate venue for papers that deal with social–economic and health benefits of PM_2.5 pollution improvement induced by NH₃mitigation and other associated resource reuse activities. Furthermore, this Special Issue aims to showcase the most successful case studies on regional NH₃ mitigation actions in the globe.

Original results from field experiments and controlled investigations, models, and review papers in relation to NH₃ emission, mitigation, and PM_2.5 pollution reduction are all welcome contributions. Authors are also encouraged to write a viewpoint paper on future requirements on agricultural nitrogen management and NH₃ mitigation by 2050 or 2100.

Prof. Dr. Xuejun Liu
Dr. Baojing Gu
Dr. Lin Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

ammonia emission
ammonia mitigation
PM2.5 pollution
air quality improvement
agricultural nitrogen management

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Other

13 pages, 2084 KiB

Open AccessArticle

¹⁵N Natural Abundance Characteristics of Ammonia Volatilization from Soils Applied by Different Types of Fertilizer

by Lingyun Peng, Limin Tao, Shutan Ma, Xi Wang, Ruhai Wang, Yonghui Tu, Liangjie Wang, Chaopu Ti and Xiaoyuan Yan

Atmosphere 2022, 13(10), 1566; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos13101566 - 25 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1903

Abstract

Ammonia (NH₃) volatilized from cropland significantly impacts the ecological environment and human health. The identification and quantification of atmospheric sources of NH₃ from cropland are therefore important for NH₃ emission reduction and air pollution control. Choosing appropriate nitrogen (N) fertilizer types is one of the key ways to reduce NH₃ emissions from agricultural systems due to different N fertilizers with different emission factors. The natural abundance isotope of N (δ¹⁵N) values can well identify the source of NH₃ volatilization, although there is rare research on δ¹⁵N-NH₃ values volatilized when applying different types of N fertilizers. Here, we conducted an incubation experiment to study the characteristics of δ¹⁵N-NH₃ values during the whole volatilization process after different N fertilizers were applied to the soil. The results show that the cumulative NH₃ volatilization from urea (U), urease inhibitor fertilizer (UI), compound fertilizer (CF) and ammonium nitrate phosphate fertilizer (AP) treatment was 5.25 ± 0.00, 3.11 ± 0.00, 3.22 ± 0.19 and 1.38 ± 0.12 kg N ha⁻¹ at the end of the 15-day incubation period, respectively. The average δ¹⁵N value of NH₃ volatilized from the U, UI, CF and AP treatments was −36.02 ± 4.95, −29.08 ± 9.70, −35.18 ± 4.98 and −29.42 ± 4.33‰, respectively. Generally, the δ¹⁵N-NH₃ values ranged from −41.33 to −6.30‰ during the NH₃ volatilization process. The δ¹⁵N-NH₃ value was lower in the U treatment than in the UI and AP treatments (p < 0.05), which suggests that N forms and the slow-release additions of different fertilizers, such as NO₃⁻-N and urease inhibitors, can delay or slow down NH₃ volatilization, resulting in relative isotopic enrichment. Therefore, the basic properties of different N fertilizers, the changes in soil NH₄⁺-N and cumulative NH₃ during the volatilization process significantly impacted the δ¹⁵N-NH₃ values. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Ammonia Emission and Mitigation Effects)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 9165 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Satellite Support to Estimate Livestock Ammonia Emissions: A Case Study in Hebei, China

by Pu Liu, Jia Ding, Yufeng Ji, Hang Xu, Sheng Liu, Bin Xiao, Haodong Jin, Xiaojun Zhong, Zecheng Guo, Houcheng Wang and Lei Liu

Atmosphere 2022, 13(10), 1552; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos13101552 - 22 Sep 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1519

Abstract

Ammonia (NH₃) is an important precursor of secondary inorganic aerosols that affect air quality and human health. Livestock production is an essential source of NH₃ emissions, which exceeded half of the total NH₃ emissions in China. However, our understanding of the livestock point NH₃ emissions is still limited, due to the lack of both monitoring and statistical data. In this study, we established a satellite-based approach to estimating livestock point NH₃ emissions by combining satellite observations and digital maps of points-of-interest (POI). Taking a case study in Hebei province over China, 1267 livestock points were identified. The point livestock NH₃ emissions in 2020 ranged from 16.8 to 126.6 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, with an average emission of 42.0 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. The livestock NH₃ emissions in Hebei showed an overall increasing trend, with a growth rate of 5.8% yr⁻¹ between 2008 and 2020. In terms of seasonal changes, high livestock NH₃ emissions mainly occurred in spring and summer, while low NH₃ emissions were generally in autumn and winter. Satellite-derived point livestock NH₃ emissions in Hebei were 2–4 times that of bottom-up NH₃ emissions (EDGAR), suggesting that current used bottom-up emissions underestimated point livestock NH₃ emissions. This study proposed a framework for the satellite-based estimation of livestock NH₃ emissions, which is of great significance for relevant N management and NH₃ emission reduction policy formulation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Ammonia Emission and Mitigation Effects)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

10 pages, 1779 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of NH₃ Emissions on Particulate Matter Pollution in South Korea: A Case Study of the Seoul Metropolitan Area

by Changsub Shim, Jihyun Han, Daven K. Henze, Mark W. Shephard, Liye Zhu, Nankyoung Moon, Shailesh K. Kharol, Enrico Dammers and Karen Cady-Pereira

Atmosphere 2022, 13(8), 1227; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos13081227 - 02 Aug 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2323

Abstract

We analyzed the multi-year relationship between particulate matter (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) concentrations and possible precursors including NO₂, SO₂, and NH₃ based on local observations over the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA) from 2015 to 2017. Surface NH₃ concentrations were obtained from Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) retrievals, while other pollutants were observed at 142 ground sites. We found that NH₃ had the highest correlation with PM_2.5 (R = 0.51) compared to other precursors such as NO₂ and SO₂ (R of 0.16 and 0.14, respectively). The correlations indicate that NH₃ emissions are likely a limiting factor in controlling PM_2.5 over the SMA in a high-NOx environment. This implies that the current Korean policy urgently requires tools for controlling local NH₃ emissions from the livestock industry (for example, from hog manure). These findings provide the first satellite-based trace gas evidence that implementing an NH₃ control strategy could play a key role in improving air quality in the SMA. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Ammonia Emission and Mitigation Effects)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

9 pages, 1645 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quantifying the Influence of a Burn Event on Ammonia Concentrations Using a Machine-Learning Technique

by Jiabao Hu, Tingting Liao, Yixuan Lü, Yanjun Wang, Yuexin He, Weishou Shen, Xianyu Yang, Dongsheng Ji and Yuepeng Pan

Atmosphere 2022, 13(2), 170; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos13020170 - 21 Jan 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2308

Abstract

Although combustion is considered a common source of ammonia (NH₃) in the atmosphere, field measurements quantifying such emissions of NH₃ are still lacking. In this study, online measurements of NH₃ were performed by a cavity ring-down spectrometer, in the cold season at a rural site in Xianghe on the North China Plain. We found that the NH₃ concentrations were mostly below 65 ppb during the study period. However, from 18 to 21 November 2017, a close burn event (~100 m) increased the NH₃ concentrations to 145.6 ± 139.9 ppb. Using a machine-learning technique, we quantified that this burn event caused a significant increase in NH₃ concentrations by 411%, compared with the scenario without the burn event. In addition, the ratio of ∆NH₃/∆CO during the burn period was 0.016, which fell in the range of biomass burning. Future investigations are needed to evaluate the impacts of the NH₃ combustion sources on air quality, ecosystems, and climate in the context of increasing burn events worldwide. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Ammonia Emission and Mitigation Effects)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Other

Jump to: Research

7 pages, 694 KiB

Open AccessOpinion

One-Time Deep Application of Nitrogen Fertilizer: A Potential Measure of Ammonia Mitigation in Grainland

by Wenxu Dong, Tingting Zeng, Xiqun Zhang, Hongliang Wu, Xiuping Liu, Xiaoxin Li, Yuming Zhang and Chunsheng Hu

Atmosphere 2022, 13(11), 1859; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos13111859 - 08 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1126

Abstract

Ammonia (NH₃) is one of the main precursors of secondary inorganic aerosols. In 2018, the NH₃ emissions of China’s cereal production (rice, wheat and maize) were estimated to be 3.3 Mt NH₃-N. Numerous NH₃ mitigation strategies have been developed in agriculture to reduce the emissions and improve air quality. However, due to the cost and unfeasibility of some developed techniques, the application of these mitigation measures is relatively slow in cropland. Therefore, developing low-cost, easy-operation, and feasible mitigation measures is an important breakthrough to solve the pollution of ammonia emissions in grain fields. The one-time deep application of nitrogen fertilizer in crop growing season, referred to as one-time application, is a promising ammonia mitigation measure for grain fields. It is a low-cost mode of fertilizer application suitable for grain fields as it saves labor and reduces the input of agricultural machinery. Therefore, incentive policies should be formulated to promote it for wide-range application in the whole country, especially in the areas with serious ammonia pollution, in order to achieve the goal of green and sustainable agricultural production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Ammonia Emission and Mitigation Effects)

► Show Figures