Studying Fertilizers to Cut Greenhouse Gases November 17, 2009
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have found that
using alternative types of fertilizers can cut back on
greenhouse gas emissions, at least in one part of the country.
They are currently examining whether the alternatives offer
similar benefits nationwide. Nitrogen fertilizers are often a
necessity for ensuring sufficient crop yields, but their use
leads to release of nitrous oxide, a major greenhouse gas, into
the atmosphere. Fertilizer use is one reason an estimated 78
percent of the nation's nitrous oxide emissions come from
agriculture, according to Halvorson, a soil scientist at the ARS
Plant Nutrient Research Laboratory in Fort Collins, Colo.
Halvorson compared nitrous oxide emissions from corn fields
treated with either a conventional nitrogen fertilizer (urea) or
either of two specially formulated urea fertilizersone with
"controlled release" polymer-coated pellets, and the other with
inhibitors added to "stabilize" the urea t