Nitrogen Assessment: Pakistan as a Case-Study

Nitrogen Assessment: Pakistan as a Case-Study provides a detailed overview of issues and challenges related to nitrogen use and overuse, thus serving as a reference for researchers in Pakistan and providing important insights for other geographic regions. Excess and inefficient nitrogen use in crops and livestock sectors is polluting our rivers, seas, atmosphere, and ecosystems, contributing to climate change, hampering biodiversity, and contributing to stratospheric ozone depletion. This book covers the importance of nitrogen in relation to food security, human health, and economic stability in South Asia. It also discusses nitrogen status, sources, sinks, and drivers of nitrogen use in Pakistan, focusing on current nitrogen measures and policies.Nitrogen pollution is one of the biggest challenges of 21st Century, and the international scientific community is beginning to recognize the significance of nitrogen pollution and to explore how to combat it. The editors’ institution, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, partners with South Asia Nitrogen Hub, which includes about 30 organizations from South Asia and UK working on nitrogen assessment, budgeting, awareness, and policy guidance, as well as possible measures to reduce nitrogen pollution.Nitrogen Assessment: Pakistan as a Case-Study provides an important guide to this work and is written in a way that is accessible to an audience with a wide range of experience from advanced students to seasoned researchers.

• Presents an excellent compilation of research-based findings in the first comprehensive assessment of nitrogen use in Pakistan
• Offers a detailed and comprehensive compilation of data and content from a variety of sources
• Analyzes important translational insights for other geographic regions seeking to maximize nutrient use efficiency

• Language: English
• Publisher: Academic Press
• Release date: Nov 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9780323860079

Book preview

Nitrogen Assessment

Pakistan as a Case-Study

Editors

Tariq Aziz

University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Sub-Campus at Depalpur, Okara, Punjab, Pakistan

Abdul Wakeel

Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Muhammad Arif Watto

University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Sub-Campus at Depalpur, Okara, Punjab, Pakistan

Muhammad Sanaullah

Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Muhammad Aamer Maqsood

Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Aysha Kiran

Department of Botany, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Copyright

Contributors

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1. Rethinking nitrogen use: need to plan beyond present

1.1. Reactive nitrogen: a global challenge

1.2. Nitrogen cycle and human intervention

1.3. Nitrogen use efficiency in agriculture

1.4. Pakistan N budget: past, present, and future perspectives

1.5. Global attention toward nitrogen challenge

1.6. Concluding remarks

Chapter 2. Sources of nitrogen for crop growth: Pakistan's case

2.1. Introduction

2.2. Organic sources of nitrogen

2.3. Synthetic sources of nitrogen for crops

2.4. Non conventional sources of N

2.5. Conclusion

Chapter 3. Nitrogen sinks in the agro-food system of Pakistan

3.1. Introduction

3.2. Major N sinks in the agro-food systems

3.3. Humans food as N sink

3.4. Atmosphere as N sink

3.5. Soil as N sink

3.6. Water resources as N sink

3.7. Conclusion

Chapter 4. Drivers of increased nitrogen use in Pakistan

4.1. Introduction

4.2. Population

4.3. Food crop production

4.4. Feed crop production

4.5. Dietary patterns

4.6. Urbanization

4.7. Land use

4.8. Energy sector

4.9. Transport sector

4.10. Industry

4.11. Conclusions

Chapter 5. Trends in nitrogen use and development in Pakistan

5.1. Chemical fertilizer offtake in Pakistan

5.2. Demographic projections—2070

5.3. Trends in N fertilizer use considering food production trends

5.4. Trends in N fertilizer use considering agricultural interventions

5.5. Future N fertilizer research trends in Pakistan

5.6. Conclusion

Chapter 6. Nitrogen emissions from agriculture sector in Pakistan: context, pathways, impacts and future projections

6.1. The N issue and the Pakistan context

6.2. Nitrogen transformations in soil and gaseous losses

6.3. Impacts of elevated N emissions (NH3, NOx)

6.4. Trends of N inputs and emissions

6.5. Nitrogen emissions from agriculture in Pakistan

6.6. Future projections

6.7. Key information gaps

6.8. Summary and next steps required

Chapter 7. Nitrogen use efficiency in crop production: issues and challenges in South Asia

7.1. Introduction

7.2. Nitrogen use efficiency in relation to soil nitrogen

7.3. Time trends of the total input, output, and surplus nitrogen in the soil and nitrogen use efficiency in South Asia

7.4. Nitrogen output in the form of crop yield as a function of total N input

7.5. Nitrogen use efficiency as a function of total and fertilizer N input

7.6. Nitrogen use efficiency and surplus nitrogen in the soil

7.7. Challenges and options for enhancing nitrogen use efficiency

7.8. Conclusions

Chapter 8. Mitigation and actions toward nitrogen losses in Pakistan

8.1. Introduction

8.2. Nitrogen footprints: global versus regional realities of N losses mitigations

8.3. Challenges and opportunities for mitigating N losses

8.4. Options for NH3 mitigation

8.5. Options for NO3 leaching mitigation

8.6. Options for N2O mitigation

8.7. On-farm technologies and practices to improve NUE

8.8. Conclusions: toward managing agricultural soils to mitigate N losses

Chapter 9. Pathways to sustainable nitrogen use and management in Pakistan

9.1. Nitrogen challenges and responses

9.2. Nitrogen use and management status in Pakistan

9.3. Current policies related to nitrogen use in Pakistan

9.4. Way forward for sustainable nitrogen management

9.5. Pakistan's needs

9.6. Conclusions

Index

Copyright

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Contributors

Waqar Ahmad,     Asian Soil Partnership, and School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Imran Ashraf,     Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Masood Iqbal Awan,     University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Sub-Campus at Depalpur, Okara, Punjab, Pakistan

Tariq Aziz,     University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Sub-Campus at Depalpur, Okara, Punjab, Pakistan

Zunaira Bano,     Department of Botany, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Bijay-Singh,     Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India

Hafiz Muhammad Bilal,     Water Management Research Farm, Renala Khurd, Okara, Pakistan

Amara Farooq,     Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Ghulam Haider,     Department of Plant Biotechnology, Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences, NUST, Islamabad, Pakistan

Nighat Hasnain,     Agrilenz Ltd., London, United Kingdom

Muhammad Irfan,     Soil and Environmental Sciences Division, Nuclear Institute of Agriculture (NIA), Tandojam, Sindh, Pakistan

Annie Irshad,     College of Grassland Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China

Aysha Kiran,     Department of Botany, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Muhammad Aamer Maqsood,     Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Abdul Jalil Marwat,     National Fertilizer Development Centre, Islamabad, Pakistan

Fathia Mubeen,     Soil and Environmental Biotechnology Division, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Ahmad Mujtaba,     Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Naqsh-e-Zuhra,     Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Muhammad Nasim,     Pesticide Quality Control Laboratory, Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan

Allah Nawaz

Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Soil Chemistry Section, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Nasir Rasheed,     Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Sajjad Raza,     School of Geographical Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

Robert Rees,     Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Hafeez ur Rehman,     Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Muhammad Sanaullah,     Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Zia-ul-Hassan Shah,     Department of Soil Science, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, Sindh, Pakistan

Muhammad Rizwan Shahid,     Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Ahmad Naeem Shahzad,     Department of Agronomy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan

Mark Sutton,     Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh Research Station, Penicuik, Midlothian, United Kingdom

Abdul Wakeel,     Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Muhammad Arif Watto,     University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Sub-Campus at Depalpur, Okara, Punjab, Pakistan

Xiaoning Zhao,     School of Geographical Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

Munir Hussain Zia,     R&D Department, Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited, Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan

Foreword

For the past 50 years or so, global society has taken nitrogen too much for granted. A look at chemistry textbooks from the 1920s will point to a past nitrogen problem, where a growing human population would require more food. To boost crop yields and produce this food would need increased access to limited nitrogen compounds and other nutrients. Recycling of organic nitrogen sources in manure and biological nitrogen fixation was apparently not enough, while mining of fossil nitrogen either as guano or saltpeter risked quickly depleting limited stocks. With the advent of the Haber–Bosch process, it seemed that the nitrogen problem had been solved, since this provides a cheap way to harvest atmospheric di-nitrogen (N2) and turn it into ammonia (NH3) for fertilizer and other uses. The net result was a massive increase in chemical nitrogen fertilizers, especially from the 1950s, providing the fuel for the Green Revolution, where new high-demand, high-yield crop varieties were the engine.

As we see now, this was only the start of a new kind of nitrogen problem. It turned out that nitrogen use is rather inefficient, meaning that a large amount of Haber–Bosch nitrogen compounds is lost to the environment. At the same time, it was realized that nitrogen is not just an agricultural challenge. Burning fossil fuels and biofuels releases stored nitrogen as nitrogen oxides (NOx), nitrous oxide (N2O), and ammonia to the atmosphere, while high temperature combustion also converts atmospheric di-nitrogen into NOx and these other nitrogen pollutants. Apart from agriculture, industry, energy, and transport, the whole food system is implicated, as wastewater systems release nitrogen to groundwaters, water courses, and the coastal zone, threatening drinking water, ecosystems, and fisheries. Nitrogen compounds emitted by human activities to the atmosphere contribute to air pollution, climate change, and stratospheric ozone depletion, affecting our health, livelihoods, and ecosystems. And it is not just aquatic ecosystems that are affected. When nitrogen air pollution lands on forest, mountains, and other natural habitats, the ecology is changed, affecting ecosystem resilience and compromising ecosystem services.

In this brief summary it quickly becomes clear why we say that nitrogen is everywhere and invisible. We face a problem of science/policy fragmentation across issues, where nitrogen is relevant for all of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and yet is almost completely missing from the SDG process. To accelerate progress, we need to bring nitrogen together. We need to show how nitrogen links all aspects of our lives, all aspects of global change, and that nitrogen action needs to be embedded throughout the sustainable development agenda.

With this thinking in mind, I am delighted to welcome publication of the Pakistan Nitrogen Assessment, which brings together multiple strands of evidence of why nitrogen is relevant, and the opportunities for action. Under the guidance of leading researchers from the Pakistan scientific community, I expect that it will play a key role in raising awareness of how nitrogen management is essential if we are to reach the SDGs.

We have referred to the run up to 2030 as the Nitrogen Decade, as highlighted during World Environment Day 2021, hosted by the Government of Pakistan in launching the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. The importance for sustainable ecosystems is obvious. At the same time actions for sustainable nitrogen management—following up the UN Environment Assembly Resolution 4/14 and the Colombo Declaration—will help to meet multiple economic, health, and environmental goals, supporting food and energy production, climate resilience, livelihoods, and the circular economy.

The solutions and synergies described in this book demonstrate Pakistan's leadership, and will provide welcome guidance for other countries as the world starts to embrace the new nitrogen challenge.

Mark Sutton

Director, GEF/UNEP International Nitrogen Management System (INMS)

Director, GCRF South Asian Nitrogen Hub

Co-chair, UNECE Task Force on Reactive Nitrogen

Acknowledgments

The Editorial Team would like to extend sincere gratitude to all contributors especially to the lead authors for their valuable contribution and support. It's been a long journey since the inception of this great idea in 2019 during the South Asia Nitrogen Hub (SANH) meeting at Nepal, in February 2019, to the receipt of final draft. Thanks again!!

We are also highly indebted to University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, being the parent institute and partner of SANH from Pakistan.

We also owe very special thanks to SANH established under the UKRI-GCRF.

This contribution is dedicated to farmers the unsung heroes of war against hunger.

Tariq Aziz, Abdul Wakeel, M. Arif Watto, M. Aamer Maqsood, Muhammad Sanaullah and Aysha Kiran

Chapter 1: Rethinking nitrogen use: need to plan beyond present

Tariq Aziz ¹ , Abdul Wakeel ² , Ahmad Naeem Shahzad ³ , Robert Rees ⁴ , and Mark Sutton ⁵       ¹ University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Sub-Campus at Depalpur, Okara, Punjab, Pakistan      ² Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan      ³ Department of Agronomy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan      ⁴ Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom      ⁵ Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh Research Station, Penicuik, Midlothian, United Kingdom

Abstract

Nitrogen, being an integral part of proteins, DNA, RNA, chlorophyll, enzymes, and several other biomolecules, is vital for life on earth. About 50% of global food production is dependent on mineral N fertilizers; hence, it is essential for food security and economic development. Its excessive and inefficient use, however, results in several environmental externalities such as deterioration of air and water quality, soil health, climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, and loss of biodiversity. Nitrogen pollution is already crossing the planetary boundary, hence it needs immediate attention. However, various environmental damages caused by N losses need to be balanced against the benefits that are associated with N use in agriculture and the role it plays in contributing to food security. It is therefore important to account for the costs and benefits of mitigation policies at local, regional, and global levels. This chapter discusses the N challenge, its impacts on the environment and climate change, its use in South Asia particularly in Pakistan, and the policies aiming at increasing its use efficiencies and reducing environmental impacts of surplus N.

Keywords

Air pollution; Biodiversity; Climate change; Food security; Global warming; Nitrogen use efficiency; Water quality

1.1. Reactive nitrogen: a global challenge

In the early 1900s, food production was constrained by depleting soil nitrogen (N) stocks. This N constraint was unlocked by Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch by converting the inert dinitrogen gas into readily available N and as per recent estimates global food production may be reduced to one-half of the current level without N fertilizer applications (Erisman et al., 2008). The need for N use is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, its use is crucial in reducing poverty and hunger and boosting economic development, it can impose risks to health, environment, and economy on the other hand. The risks include climate change (Davidson, 2009), air pollution causing cancer and respiratory diseases in humans (Townsend et al., 2003), water pollution causing eutrophication in water bodies (Diaz and Rosenberg, 2008), loss of biodiversity (Clark and Tilman, 2008), stratospheric ozone depletion (Ravishankara et al., 2009), and acidification of natural ecosystems (Driscoll et al., 2003). The N compounds such as NH3 and nitrous oxides form atmospheric aerosols that can cause significant economic and health damages (Paulot and Jacob, 2014).

Nitrogen pollution is one of the major environmental issues of the 21st century. Several sources (agriculture, biomass burning, energy and transport, and wastewater treatment) contribute to N pollution, of which agriculture is the major contributor with about 66% share in the total N emissions. Due to inefficiency and poor management, more than one-half of the inorganic fertilizers and manures added to soil eventually end up polluting the environment in one or the other way (Sutton et al., 2013). In addition to synthetic fertilizers, livestock supply chains also impact N emissions and global N flows (Uwizeye et al., 2020). It is estimated that the livestock sector emits one-third of the global anthropogenic N emissions equivalent to 65   Tg   N yr −¹ (Uwizeye et al., 2020).

The current human interventions in the N cycle are contributing to increasing environmental impacts and could lead to irreversible change as these have already crossed the planetary boundaries (Steffen et al., 2015). One of the key N polluting compounds is nitrous oxide (N2O), which contributes to 6% of the global annual emissions of greenhouse gases (Blanco et al., 2014). Nitrous oxide has 265 times more potential to cause global warming than carbon dioxide (Tian et al., 2019). Mitigating N pollution will therefore benefit the environment not only in terms of direct climate benefits to limit the increases in global temperatures but also in indirect climate benefits primarily from avoided pollution to the water bodies and atmosphere (Brink and van Grinsven, 2011; Kanter et al., 2017).

1.2. Nitrogen cycle and human intervention

The Earth's N largely exists in the form of dinitrogen (N2; 99.9%) and is not directly available to most organisms. To convert (fix) N into useable forms, high temperature and pressures (combustion or Haber–Bosch) or microbial activity (biological N fixation) are required to break the N triple bond. The fixed or reactive N (Nr) that is formed can then be transformed into several forms of inorganic [ammonium (NH4 +), ammonia (NH3), nitrate (NO3 − ), nitrous oxide (N2O), nitric oxides (NOx), and nitric acid (HNO3)] and organic compounds (urea, proteins, amines, and nucleic acids). Human activities such as agriculture and the burning of fossil fuels release Nr into the environment, where it can be transformed into different chemical forms and stay in the environment for extended periods. The Nr keeps circulating in the environment with multiple effects on the atmosphere, fresh and marine waters, and on soils in a sequence of effects described as the nitrogen cascade until it is converted back into N2 (Galloway et al., 2003). When a unit of synthetic fertilizer N is applied to croplands, it can be converted into various chemical forms and then either taken up by plants or lost to the environment. For example, from a unit of applied fertilizer, 30% could be lost by leaching as NO3 − causing eutrophication in water bodies, 10% could be lost in the form of NOx and NH3 damaging air quality, and 1.3% could be directly or indirectly lost as N2O contributing to climate change and ozone depletion (Kanter, 2018). A 100   kg of N applied to 1-ha land in the United States could cost about $1716 for environmental damage to society (Kanter et al., 2015). The biggest damage cost comes from NO3 - (86%) pollution of water and NOx (8%) and NH3 (5%) pollution of air, while damage in terms of climate change and ozone depletion from N2O is less than 1% (Kanter, 2018). This suggests that environmental damages from nonclimate components of N pollution are much higher and require more policy focus. Nevertheless, mitigating nonclimate N pollution will ultimately help mitigate the N2O-related climate changes as well. Reducing global N pollution by encouraging nonclimate actions that could deliver climate benefits is one of the key strategies under the building block framework of the Paris Climate Agreement (Fig. 1.1) and is a way toward reducing 50% of N waste by 2030 as agreed by Columbo Declaration in 2019.

Figure 1.1 Contribution to environmental pollution through Nr boosted by human activity (Kanter, 2018).

A broad and integrated approach is needed in making policies to mitigate climate and nonclimate impacts of N pollution as mitigation of one component of N pollution (for example, efforts to reducing NO3 - leaching and runoff) can exacerbate emission of other components of the N cascade (NH3, NOx, and N2O emissions) (Kanter, 2018). However, the environmental damage caused by N losses needs to be balanced against the benefits that are associated with N use in agriculture and the role it plays in contributing to food security and economic development. It is therefore important to account for the costs and benefits of mitigation policies at local, regional, and global levels.

1.3. Nitrogen use efficiency in agriculture

Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is a critical indicator for N use in developing sustainable food security targets with less degradation of the environment (Galloway et al., 2008; Zhang et al., 2015). NUE is a measure of the amount of N recovered in the harvest expressed as a proportion of the amount of N supplied as synthetic fertilizer, manure, biological fixation, and atmospheric deposition. Nitrogen inputs and the corresponding NUEs vary significantly between countries and regions (Conant et al., 2013; Shahzad et al., 2019). Several studies have estimated an overall global NUE 42%–45% with a total global N input of 163–174   Tg   N yr −¹ in 2009–10 (Zhang et al., 2015; Lasaletta et al., 2014; Mueller et al., 2017; Shahzad et al., 2019). During the past three   decades, several developed nations (Europe, Canada, and the United States) have demonstrated a significant improvement in NUE, while many developing countries (Asia particularly India, China, and Pakistan) persistently recorded a little or no change in NUE (Conant et al., 2013). A recent analysis of N use in 124 countries found that NUE in Pakistan has drastically decreased from 53% in 1961 to 21% in 2009 reflecting the increased use of N fertilizers (Lassaletta et al., 2014). However, in regions such as Europe and North America new management approaches have helped increase NUE in the recent decades despite relatively high N fertilizer use (Omara et al., 2019). The current levels of NUE across countries and regions are impacted by several factors such as N input rates, balanced fertilization, soil,