Impact of Fertilizers on

Climate Change

J. Scott Angle President and CEO

International Fertilizer Development Center

jangle@ifdc.org

Wilson Dam and Nitrate #2, Anchor Legacy Assets

1950s vintage photo

• Muscle Shoals developed 70% of all fertilizer traded in the world.

• The U.S. fertilizer industry began in 1917.

HQ

IFDC Headquarters, Muscle Shoals, AL, USA

Pilot Plant

IFDC Pilot Plant

Lab photo

Lab Tour at IFDC Headquarters

classroom

International Training at IFDC Headquarters

Field demo

IFDC Demonstration Field Day - Ghana

Fertilizers have been a cause of greenhouse gas

emissions to the atmosphere but can also be the single

greatest source for remediation.

Nitrogen and carbon in the atmosphere are affected by fertilizers.

The Carbon Cycle

Source: apeuk.org

90% of all CO2

emissions

originate from

terrestrial or

aquatic sources.

24% of all CO2

emissions are

from crops,

livestock, and

forestry.

How do fertilizers affect atmospheric

CO2 concentrations?

Intensification (from

fertilizer use):

1. Reduces “virgin”

land put into

cultivation.

Plowing up tropical rainforests or prairies releases

significant amounts of soil C into the atmosphere.

Relationship Between Fertilizer Consumption,

Cultivated Land, and Land Spared

Source: Based on FAOSTAT 2017 and World Bank 2017 data

Decline in Soil Organic Matter (SOM) in African

Soils as a Function of Time and CO2-equivalent

Emission

Nigeria Year 1986 1994 1998

Soil organic C (%) 1.2 0.65 0.6

Decline in SOC (t/ha) 9.9 10.8

CO2-equivalent (t/ha) 36.3 39.6

Annual emission

(t/ha/year)

4.5 3.3

Burkina Faso Year 1994 1998 2004

Soil organic C (%) 0.55 0.31 0.28

Decline in SOC (t/ha) 4.32 4.86

CO2-equivalent (t/ha) 15.8 17.8

Annual emission

(t/ha/year)

4.0 1.8

Sources: Bostick et al. (2007) and Ogunwole and Ogunleye (2005)

How do fertilizers affect atmospheric

CO2 concentrations?

Intensification (from

fertilizer use):

2. Removes CO2 from

atmosphere and

sequesters C in

soil.

- 70.0

- 60.0

- 50.0

- 40.0

- 30.0

- 20.0

- 10.0

0.0

10.0

20.0

Fert

ilize

r

Man

ure

Deposi

tion

Fixatio

n

Sed

imenta

tion

Pro

ductio

n

Resi

due

s

Leaching

Gase

ous

Losse

s

Ero

sion

Tot

al

Balance Factors

kg

/ha

K2O

P 2O5

N

Lack of fertilizer reduces biomass production. Conversely,

use of fertilizers results in greater biomass production

and SOM content – or C sequestration.

Low SOM

High SOM

Effect of Fertilizer and Organic Matter

Management on Maize Yield

Source: IFDC

Nitrogen Cycle

Mineral N fertilizers contribute about 748 million t of N as CO2-equivalents, or 1.6% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

N2O is released from

wet or flooded (rice)

soils.

N2O and NO are 265

times more “potent” as

greenhouse gases

compared to CO2.

Technologies that

reduce N2O

volatilization are

urgently needed –

beyond current enzyme

inhibitors.

Direct Contribution of Mineral N Fertilizer and Manure

Consumption to Emissions of N2O, NO, and NH3

N Emission Sources

Nitrous Oxide Nitric Oxide Ammonia

Em

iss

ion

(m

illi

on

t N

/ye

ar)

0

1

2

3

4

5

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

N Fertiliser

Manure

(Tg

N/y

ea

r)

N losses to the atmosphere are best controlled

by the 4R’s.

• Right source

• Right rate

• Right time

• Right place

Urea Deep Placement

Mean N2O and NO Emission and Emission

Factor (EF) for Flooded Rice

Treatment

Rice (flooded)

(g N/ha-1) EF (%)

Control 0.48

Broadcast 1.66 0.0024

UDP 1.23 0.0015

Comparison of Nitrate Release from Urea

With and Without Nitrification Inhibitors

Source: Singh, 2010

693

778

326

915 944

439

0

200

400

600

800

1000

Day 61 Day 89 Day 131

mg

N/P

lan

t

Effect of MNs on the Dynamics of Nitrogen Uptake by Soybean

NPK NPK + micronutrients

Micronutrients (Zn, B, Cu, S)

Source: Dimkpa et al., 2017

Conclusions

Agriculture is (and has been) a major source of

increased greenhouse gases.

But agriculture can be an important solution to

global climate change by:

Intensifying yields on land currently under

production – which reduces the need to bring

new/virgin land into production.

Increasing yields (intensification) to sequester

CO2 in soil as soil organic matter.

Utilization of current (4R’s) and future

management techniques to prevent N losses to

atmosphere.