{"id":34359,"date":"2025-03-07T17:41:47","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T16:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/?p=34359"},"modified":"2025-03-07T17:42:35","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T16:42:35","slug":"agricultural-fertilization-drives-greater-seasonal-co2-exchange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/2025\/03\/07\/agricultural-fertilization-drives-greater-seasonal-co2-exchange\/","title":{"rendered":"Agricultural fertilization drives greater seasonal CO2 exchange"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-025-56730-z\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">document<\/span><\/a> deals with <strong>significant impact of agricultural nitrogen (N) fertilization on increasing the seasonal amplitude of CO2 exchange between land and atmosphere, especially in northern latitudes<\/strong>.<!--more--> The authors analyzed simulations of Earth climate models (ESMs), in particular the Community Earth System Model (CESM) and its land component Community Land Model version 5 (CLM5), and compared them with observations of CO2 concentrations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Key findings of the study:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Observations over the past 50 years show <strong>increase in seasonal CO2 amplitude in northern latitudes<\/strong>, with significant increases recorded at stations such as Mauna Loa and Point Barrow.<\/li>\n<li>Older versions of ESM (e.g. CMIP5) <strong>they did not adequately simulate this increased amplitude<\/strong>Newer models (e.g. CMIP6) including CESM2 are getting closer to observations.<\/li>\n<li>The study showed that <strong>agricultural nitrogen fertilization is the largest contributor (45%) to the increased seasonal amplitude of CO2 in the Northern Hemisphere<\/strong> in CESM simulations. In agricultural hotspot areas, it can contribute up to 9 ppm of amplitude increase.<\/li>\n<li>The increased amplitude is also contributed by <strong>higher CO2 concentrations (40%) and warmer temperatures (18%)<\/strong>, but to a lesser extent than nitrogen fertilization. The impact of increased CO2 is more pronounced in northern latitudes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Increased photosynthesis is the dominant mechanism<\/strong> responsible for the increase in the seasonal amplitude of CO2. Agricultural nitrogen fertilization directly supports plant growth and thus photosynthesis.<\/li>\n<li>While it was previously considered <strong>increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration as the dominant factor<\/strong> contributing to the increased amplitude of carbon fluxes in northern latitudes, this study highlights <strong>the importance of agricultural nitrogen fertilization<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The impact of agricultural nitrogen fertilization on net biome production (NBP), which represents the net flux of CO2 between land and atmosphere, shows <strong>similar spatial patterns<\/strong> as changes in CO2 amplitude in CESM2 simulations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Increased use of fertilizers<\/strong> in agriculture over the past fifty years, initiated by the Green Revolution, has significantly increased crop productivity.<\/li>\n<li>Most older ESMs <strong>underrepresented agriculture and land management<\/strong>, including nitrogen fertilization, which led to an underestimation of the impact of agriculture on the seasonal amplitude of CO2. Newer models, such as CESM2, include <strong>explicit modules for agricultural simulation<\/strong>, including different crops, irrigation and fertilization.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Irrigation<\/strong> has a smaller impact on the seasonal amplitude of carbon fluxes in the Northern Hemisphere (3.7%) compared to nitrogen fertilization, but can be locally significant. Land use changes have a significant impact on the overall carbon cycle, but not as strong on the seasonal amplitude of carbon fluxes.<\/li>\n<li>The magnitude of the change in carbon fluxes between land and atmosphere in 2010-2015 due to industrial nitrogen fertilization (0.54 gC m\u22122 d\u22121) is <strong>similar to the combined impact of CO2 and climate<\/strong> (0.55 g C m\u22122 d\u22121).<\/li>\n<li>Authors <strong>recommend including a representation of agricultural nitrogen fertilization<\/strong> into future carbon cycle simulations given its key role in regulating carbon fluxes.<\/li>\n<li>Study findings <strong>they question the assumption<\/strong>that climate change is the primary driver of the increased seasonal amplitude of CO2, and they emphasize <strong>the important role of agricultural fertilization<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The study highlights that <strong>agricultural nitrogen fertilization represents a significant anthropogenic influence on the seasonal amplitude of CO2<\/strong> and its inclusion in models is crucial for more accurate predictions of future carbon cycle and climate change. <em><strong>Spring<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Glossary of Key Terms<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Seasonal CO2 Amplitude:<\/strong> The difference between the maximum and minimum monthly average concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) over a year. It reflects seasonal changes in the uptake and release of CO2 by ecosystems.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Earth System Models (ESMs):<\/strong> Complex computer models that simulate interactions between different components of the Earth, such as the atmosphere, oceans, land, ice sheet, and biosphere, including biogeochemical cycles such as the carbon cycle.<\/li>\n<li><strong>CMIP (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project):<\/strong> A standardized framework for comparing the outputs of different global climate models. CMIP phases (e.g. CMIP5, CMIP6) allow scientists to evaluate models and gain insight into climate projections.<\/li>\n<li><strong>CESM (Community Earth System Model):<\/strong> A specific open-source Earth system model developed and used by a community of scientists to simulate climate and biogeochemical processes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Agricultural Nitrogen (N) Fertilization:<\/strong> Adding nitrogen fertilizers to agricultural soil to increase crop yields. Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant growth and photosynthesis.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Net Biome Production (NBP):<\/strong> The total accumulation of organic carbon in an ecosystem over a period of time, representing the net flux of carbon from the atmosphere to vegetation and soil minus carbon released by respiration and disturbances (e.g. fires, land-use change). A positive NBP indicates net carbon uptake.<\/li>\n<li><strong>CO2 Fertilization:<\/strong> An increase in the rate of photosynthesis in plants due to higher concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide.<\/li>\n<li><strong>CLM (Community Land Model):<\/strong> The land component of the CESM model, which simulates physical, chemical, and biological processes on the Earth&#039;s surface, including vegetation growth, soil interactions, and carbon, water, and energy flows.<\/li>\n<li><strong>LUMIP (Land Use Model Intercomparison Project):<\/strong> A CMIP6 project aimed at comparing the impact of land use and management changes on climate and biogeochemical cycles using different Earth system models.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Green Revolution:<\/strong> A period of widespread change in agriculture in the mid- to late 20th century, characterized by the development of high-yielding crop varieties, increased use of fertilizers, and irrigation, leading to significant increases in food production.<\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This paper discusses the significant impact of agricultural nitrogen (N) fertilization on increasing the seasonal amplitude of CO2 exchange between land and atmosphere, especially in northern latitudes.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-klimaticka-zmena"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34359\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}