Assessment of reactive nitrogen flows in Bangladesh’s agriculture sector

Rahman, Md. Mizanur; Biswas, Jatish Chandra; Sutton, Mark A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6263-6341; Drewer, Julia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6263-6341; Adhya, Tapan Kumar. 2022 Assessment of reactive nitrogen flows in Bangladesh’s agriculture sector. Sustainability, 14 (1), 272. 16, pp. 10.3390/su14010272

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su14010272

Abstract/Summary

To assess the status of and trends in agricultural nitrogen (N) flows and their wider consequences for Bangladesh, in this study, we analyzed data from national and international bodies. The increased rates of N fertilizer applied for increased food production leaves behind a huge amount of unutilized reactive N (Nr). N fertilizer use is the largest in the crop sector, an important sector, where current annual consumption is 1190 Gg. The present combined annual Nr production from crop, fishery, and livestock sectors is ~600 Gg, while emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas, are ~200 Gg. Poor N management results in Nr leaking into the environment, which has increased approximately 16-fold since 1961. One potential consequence is the disruption of ecosystem functioning. The balanced tradeoff between food production and reducing Nr input needs to be achieved. One solution to reducing Nr may be a holistic approach that optimizes N application rates and incorporates waste of one subsector as an input to another applying the principle of the circular economy.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.3390/su14010272
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Atmospheric Chemistry and Effects (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	2071-1050
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	fisheries, livestock sectors, N2O, manure, sustainable N management, nitrous oxide, South Asia
NORA Subject Terms:	Agriculture and Soil Science
Date made live:	08 Feb 2022 16:56 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531912

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.3390/su14010272

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Atmospheric Chemistry and Effects (Science Area 2017-)

ISSN:

2071-1050

Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:

Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.

Additional Keywords:

fisheries, livestock sectors, N2O, manure, sustainable N management, nitrous oxide, South Asia