FEATURE ARTICLE: LESSENING THE IMPACTS FROM AGRICULTURE This
article was contributed by the Australian Centre for
International Agricultural Research (September 2007).
Industrialisation and modern technologies have increased
production along with associated wastes, including greenhouse
gases. One area where agriculture has benefited is improved
fertilisers to further boost production. The use of nitrogen-
based fertilisers can produce the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide.
Unused nitrogen mixes with oxygen to produce nitrous oxide. Like
other greenhouse gases nitrous oxide occurs naturally, settling
in the atmosphere where it absorbs some of the sun’s heat,
facilitating life-sustaining temperatures. Increasing levels of
man-made greenhouse gases can accelerate the rate at which heat
is absorbed, potentially increasing global temperatures. Should
these increases occur at a rate faster than 0.1 degrees each
decade, the possibility of changes to the Earth's climate
becomes more probable. As population rates increase m