Vortrag im Rahmen der Chemisch Physikalischen Gesellschaft
Reactive nitrogen, i.e. all nitrogen compounds except molecular N2, in the environment has been described as a cascade of events, changing pools or media and also chang-ing composition while contributing to different adverse effects before being converted into the stable molecular form. Formation requires considerable energy, but for the remainder of its lifetime mass conservation is a good descriptor. Hence, nitrogen budg-ets, which cover mass balances at different environmental pools, help to assess, quan-tify and compare nitrogen flows at relevant environmental intersections. In this presen-tation I will provide examples of use cases for nitrogen budgets in different spatial res-olutions, pointing out the different environmental effects observed from nitrogen pollu-tion and also the intervention points that would allow to reduce pollution and the asso-ciated effects. With agriculture being a main reason for the global doubling of nitrogen fixed (Haber-Bosch process taking the largest share), the need of food production to nourish humanity needs to find consideration in any scientifically sound approach to tackle the nitrogen problem. Interactions between scientific guidance and policy needs help work out tradeoffs and co-benefits of measures that do not directly tackle an im-mediate problem, but help resolve a range of impacts simultaneously.
