A new study by researchers from the Institute of Applied Ecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences shows that the amount of ammonia (NH3) released from agricultural soils varies significantly throughout the year. This finding has important implications for understanding air quality and managing nitrogen pollution.
Ammonia is a gas known to contribute both to air pollution, including harmful PM2.5 particles, and to the nitrogen cycle, which affects plant growth and ecosystems. Accurate measurement of ammonia emissions is essential for controlling regional air pollution.
The study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, tracks ammonia emissions throughout the maize growth cycle. The researchers found that the "fingerprint" of the ammonia, as measured by its isotope ratio, changed significantly between seasons. Specifically, emissions in May-June were isotopically different from those in July-October.
This isotopic difference allows scientists to pinpoint the sources of ammonia emissions. The researchers revealed that neglecting the seasonal change in ammonia's fingerprint would lead to an overestimation of its contribution to air pollution in the warmer months.
These findings highlight the importance of considering seasonal variations in ammonia emissions when managing air quality and developing pollution control strategies.
The study was funded by national programs on atmospheric pollution research and control.
A research team led by Prof. WU Yuejin from the Institute of Intelligent Machines of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science developed a novel matrix-based slow-release urea (MSU) recently to improve nitrogen use efficiency in rice production, and they assessed the perfo...
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