Nitrogen is an essential part of our ecosystem. The nitrogen-based compounds must cycle through air, water, and soil in a delicate balance to make the ecosystem function.
Human activity disrupts the natural balance of nitrogen, posing a threat to the health of both terrestrial and aquatic life. The journal Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters (AOSL) published a special issue on May 21 dedicated to the topic, bringing together a collection of 13 papers that explore the cascading consequences of nitrogen increase in circulation.
The biggest human driver of nitrogen emissions into the air is food production. The global agriculture sector depends on ammonia-based fertilizers to prime the soil each season to grow new crops. Rain and artificial irrigation sweep much of the nitrogen-based fertilizer away, landing it in lakes and oceans and damaging aquatic ecosystems.
Combustion of biofuels and fossil fuels also releases enormous amounts of nitrogen into the atmosphere.
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