Global soil‐derived ammonia emissions from agricultural nitrogen fertilizer application: A refinement based on regional and crop‐specific emission factors.

Ammonia (NH3) emissions from fertilized soils to the atmosphere and the subsequent deposition to land surface exert adverse effects on biogeochemical nitrogen (N) cycling. The region‐ and crop‐specific emission factors (EFs) of N fertilizer for NH3 are poorly developed and therefore the global estimate of soil NH3 emissions from agricultural N fertilizer application is constrained. Here we quantified the region‐ and crop‐specific NH3 EFs of N fertilizer by compiling data from 324 worldwide manipulative studies and focused to map the global soil NH3 emissions from agricultural N fertilizer application. Globally, the NH3 EFs averaged 12.56% and 14.12% for synthetic N fertilizer and manure, respectively. Regionally, south‐eastern Asia had the highest NH3 EFs of synthetic N fertilizer (19.48%) and Europe had the lowest (6%), which might have been associated with the regional discrepancy in the form and rate of N fertilizer use and management practices in agricultural production. Global agricultural NH3 emissions from the use of synthetic N fertilizer and manure in 2014 were estimated to be 12.32 and 3.79 Tg N/year, respectively. China (4.20 Tg N/year) followed by India (2.37 Tg N/year) and America (1.05 Tg N/year) together contributed to over 60% of the total global agricultural NH3 emissions from the use of synthetic N fertilizer. For crop‐specific emissions, the NH3 EFs averaged 11.13%–13.95% for the three main staple crops (i.e., maize, wheat, and rice), together accounting for 72% of synthetic N fertilizer‐induced NH3 emissions from croplands in the world and 70% in China. The region‐ and crop‐specific NH3 EFs of N fertilizer established in this study offer references to update the default EF in the IPCC Tier 1 guideline. This work also provides an insight into the spatial variation of soil‐derived NH3 emissions from the use of synthetic N fertilizer in agriculture at the global and regional scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]