Paper Topic:

Nitrogen

Running Head : AGRICULTURE AND THE NITROGEN CYCLE

Agriculture and the Nitrogen Cycle

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Agriculture and the Nitrogen Cycle

Agriculture is an important industry that provides food for human consumption . The decrease of land available for agriculture coupled with the increase of human population has required that agricultural lands increase their output . This was achieved through the use of improved crop varieties , more productive livestock , better weed and pest control and the increased use of fertilizers , specifically nitrogen fertilizers which has linearly increased to 1 .2 Mt in the

1980s . However , farming also affects the environment . Increases in phosphorus and nitrate contents of water lead to increased biological activity and large concentrations of nitrate in drinking water create health hazards . J . K R . Gasser studied the nitrogen cycles in agriculture and reported the results in his article Agricultural Productivity and the Nitrogen Cycle

Gasser (1982 ) explained that nitrogen is emitted from the soil or from animal effluents as ammonia , nitrous oxide or N2 . Considerable amounts of nitrogen are also recycled directly as animal urine and feces . The preceding crops in agricultural lands also affect the amount of nitrogen released for the current crops . However , Gasser (1982 ) explained that no arable system provides enough nitrogen for the maximum production of crops such that additional nitrogen must be added in the form of fertilizers . Gasser (1982 ) reported that there is no evidence supporting that the increased use of nitrogen fertilizer also increases the amount of nitrogen in soil-plant system . He stated...

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