Statistics Explained

Archive:Agri-environmental indicator - gross nitrogen balance

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Data from March 2012. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

This background article contains a fact sheet of the agri-environmental indicator (AEI) gross nitrogen balances. Together with other fact sheets, it provides an overview of the state of the agri-environmental indicators in the European Union (EU).

Indicator definition

Potential surplus of nitrogen on agricultural land (kg N/ha/year).

Measurements

Main indicator:

Potential surplus of nitrogen on agricultural land (kg N/ha/year).

Links with other indicators

And influences:

Main findings

Key messages

  • Figure 1. Nitrogen surplus (kg N per ha), average 2001-2004 vs 2005-2008, EU-27, CH and NO
    In most countries the average Gross Nitrogen Surplus (GNS) per ha between 2005 and 2008 was lower than between 2001 and 2004 (Figure 1). Exceptions were CZ, LT, MT, PL, RO and NO. Data for CY and EE were not available for 2001-2004.
  • The average GNS 2005-2008 is higher in EU-15 (58 kg N per ha) than in the Central and East European Countries (CEC)[1] (33 kg N per ha).

Main warnings

  • Climatic conditions have a big impact on the balance through the impact on yield and therefore N output. Climate and weather conditions are beyond the control of the farmer. To dampen the effect of weather conditions results on the nutrient balance are presented as an average for a certain period.
  • All references to area in this fact sheet based on data from the nutrient balances relate to the reference area. At the moment the reference area is based on the land-use statistics in Eurostat, and consists of arable land, land under permanent crop and permanent grassland. Note that this area is not equal to the UAA, as the UAA also includes area under glass and kitchen gardens. Some countries have excluded certain extensive areas from the reference area as well.
  • Due to methodological issues or missing data balances have been estimated by Eurostat for: MT, BE, DK, CY, IT, ES, LU, FR, LT, LV, BG, RO, EL. The results of these countries can only be regarded as a rough indication of the GNS.
  • The quality and accuracy of the estimated GNS per ha is depending on the quality and accuracy of underlying data and coefficients used. As methodologies (especially with regards to the coefficients) and data sources used in countries vary substantially the balances are only consistent within a country across time. The Gross Nitrogen Balances are not consistent across countries, which means that data cannot be compared between countries.
  • There are several actions ongoing to improve the methodology and data of the Gross Nitrogen Balances, such as a revision of the Handbook by the end of 2012, tender on excretion coefficients and grasslands in 2012 and grants in 2012 to improve crop coefficients.

Context

Introduction

The Gross Nitrogen Balance (GNB-N) lists nitrogen inputs to agricultural soils and nitrogen outputs removed from the soil. The main result from the GNB-N is the Gross Nitrogen Surplus (GNS) which is calculated as the difference between total N inputs and total N outputs. The GNS can also be expressed in kg N per ha, by dividing the surplus by the reference area. The GNB-N provides insight into links between agricultural nitrogen use and losses of nitrogen to the environment. A persistent surplus indicates potential environmental problems, such as ammonia emissions (contributes to acidification, eutrophication and atmospheric particulate pollution), nitrate leaching (resulting in pollution of drinking water and eutrophication of surface waters) or nitrous oxide emissions (a potent greenhouse gas). A persistent deficit indicates the risk of decline in soil fertility.
The GNB-N can only indicate the potential risk to the environment as the actual risk depends on many factors including climate conditions, soil type and soil characteristics, management practices such as drainage, tillage, irrigation etc.

Policy relevance and context

  • Rural Development Programme (RDP): The Agri-Environmental Measure was introduced in 1992 under the Mac Sharry reform of the CAP, integrated as an obligatory measure within the Rural Development Regulation in 1999 (pillar two) in order to promote environmental friendly farm practices. The key objectives of these measures are to promote agricultural methods to protect the environment and maintain the countryside. The Member States develop their own agri-environment measures according to their environmental needs. Some measures are designed inter alia to reduce the use of inputs, to conserve valuable farmed habitats, and to introduce changes in land use for environmental purposes. These identified positive impacts contribute to biodiversity, landscape, water and soil resources. Nitrogen balances are required for the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 (Regulation 2005/1698) as part of the EU’s Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework to assess the impact of RDP. The CMEF is laid down in a set of documents drawn up by the Commission and agreed with the Member States. These documents are put together in a Handbook, which includes a series of evaluation guidelines and guidance sheets on the common indicators.
  • The Water Framework Directive 0060/2000 (WFD) requires Member States to protect and restore the quality of their waters. Water management is based on natural geographical and hydrological formations: the river basins. It sets out a precise timetable for action, with 2015 as the target date for getting all EU waters into good status. A good status is defined through several factors: biology, chemistry as well as morphology and quantity. Environmental quality standards are defined as the concentration of a particular pollutant or group of pollutants, sediment or biota, which should not be exceeded in order to protect the environment. In the legislative text of the Water Framework Directive, there is an indicative list of pollutants that contribute to eutrophication (in particular nitrates and phosphates). Measures applied under the Water Framework Directive affecting the use of nitrogen in agriculture relate to best environmental practices. They may include the reduction of nutrient application, the modification of cultivation techniques and the proper handling of fertilisers. Most measures suggested in this context are aimed at reducing the influx of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus to the groundwater as well as surface waters. The N balance surplus (every 6 years at level of water body catchment) is a commonly used indicator for identifying areas vulnerable to nutrient pollution in the WFD pressures and impacts analysis.
  • The Nitrates Directive 0676/1991 (ND), aims to reduce water pollution caused or induced by nitrates from agricultural sources and prevent further such pollution. The directive requires the Member States to monitor nitrate concentrations in surface water and groundwater, identify waters affected by pollution and waters which could be affected by pollution if no measures are taken and designate vulnerable zones, defined as all known areas of land which drain into the waters identified. For these vulnerable zones, action programmes containing measures to reduce and prevent nitrate pollution must be developed, implemented and revised every four years. The action programmes of MS should contain rules relating to the limitation of the land application of fertilizers based on a balance between the foreseeable nitrogen requirements of the crops, and the nitrogen supply to the crops from the soil and fertilization. These balances should be calculated at farm level every 4 years.
  • The 6th Environmental action Programme encourages the full implementation of both the ND and WFD, in order to achieve levels of water quality that do not give rise to unacceptable impacts on, and risks to, human health and the environment.

Other policies which are indirectly linked to the Gross Nitrogen Balance are:

  • National Emissions Ceiling Directive 0081/2001 sets upper limits for each Member State for the total emissions in 2010 of the four pollutants responsible for acidification, eutrophication and ground-level ozone pollution (sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and ammonia), but leaves it largely to the Member States to decide which measures – on top of Community legislation for specific source categories - to take in order to comply. The implementation of the directive requires that Member States develop national programmes in 2002 and, where needed, revise those plans in 2006 that aim at meeting fixed ceilings of national emissions by 2010 and thereafter. Further, Member States have to report their emission inventories to the EEA and the European Commission in order to monitor progress and verify compliance.
  • The Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive 0001/2008 introduces an integrated cross-media approach, aiming to prevent or minimise emissions to air, water and land, as well as to avoid waste production with a view to achieve a high level of environmental protection as a whole. The purpose of the IPPC Directive is to achieve integrated prevention and control of pollution arising from several categories of industrial activities. Among these are installations for the intensive rearing of poultry or pigs with more than 40 000 places for poultry, 2 000 places for production pigs (over 30 kg), or 750 places for sows. The indicative list of main polluting substances to be taken into account if they are relevant for fixing emission limit values includes oxides of nitrogen and substances which contribute to eutrophication (phosphates and nitrogen)The Commission has adopted a new Proposal for a Directive on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) in 2007.
  • Habitats Directive 0043/1992 and Birds Directive 0147/2009: The main purpose of these Directives is to ensure biological diversity through the conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora and fauna within the European territory, while taking into account economic, social, cultural and regional requirements. Farmers who have agricultural land in Natura 2000 sites and face restrictions due to the requirements of the Habitats and Birds Directives are eligible to receive rural development payments for the management of these sites. Depending on the specific conditions of a certain area, Natura 2000 management plans may include measures to reduce the use of pesticides and fertilisers, measures to mitigate the effects of soil compaction, e.g. limitations on the use of machinery or the setting of stocking limits, or measures aiming to regulate the irrigation of agricultural land.
  • United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These amount to an average of five per cent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012. The major distinction between the Protocol and the Convention is that while the Convention encouraged industrialised countries to stabilize GHG emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O, PFCs, HFCs, SO2, NOx, CO and NMVOC), the Protocol commits them to do so. Reporting is done by the countries through the submission of annual emission inventories and national reports under the Protocol at regular intervals. Items to be reported under the protocol include Mineral Nitrogen fertilisers' application by agriculture, livestock excretion, emission factors etc.
  • United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution: Parallel to the development of the EU NEC Directive, the EU Member States together with Central and Eastern European countries, the United States and Canada have negotiated the "multi-pollutant" protocol under the so-called Gothenburg protocol, agreed in November 1999. The emission ceilings in the protocol are equal or less ambitious than those in the NEC Directive.


Agri-environmental context

The Gross Nitrogen Balance indicates the total potential risk to the environment (air, water and soil). The output side of the balance presents the nutrient uptake by harvested (and grazed) crops and fodder and crop residues removed from the field; i.e. the agricultural production from the soil. The input side of the balance counts all N supplied to the soil. Sustainability could be defined by preserving and/or improving the level of production without degrading the natural resources. The harvest and grazing of crops and fodder means that N is removed from the soil. To sustain soil fertility this removal of N in principal should be compensated by supplying the same amount of N. Fertilisers and manure are therefore necessary to supply the crops with the necessary N for growing. There are certain complications however; not all of N in fertilisers and manure reaches the crop, a part of the N in fertilisers and manure is lost due to volatilisation in animal housing, storage and with the application to the land, organic N in manure first needs to be mineralized before it is available to the crop which means that part of the N may need different time-lag for being available to plant (depending on soil characteristics and climate conditions –temperature and precipitations).. Yield and therefore the uptake of N by crops is not only determined by inputs but also by uncontrollable factors like weather. Furthermore, the risk of N leaching and run-off does not only depend on the excess N but also on the type of soil, precipitation rates, soil saturation, temperature etc. Abating measures to reduce N emissions directly impact the amount of N in manure and fertilisers applied to the soil. A higher emission rate means lower N content of manure/fertilisers applied to the soil, but means a higher contribution to environmental problems related to GHG and NH3 emissions. Lowering the emission rate means increasing the rate of N in manure/fertilisers, and therefore increasing the potential risk of leaching and run-off.

The estimated N surplus on its own therefore does not tell so much on the actual risks to the air, water and soil. The actual risk depends on many factors including climate conditions, soil type and soil characteristics, soil saturation, management practices such as drainage, tillage, irrigation etc. The actual risks to the environment are better represented by the indicators 18 Ammonia emissions, 19 GHG emissions, 27.1 Water quality (Nitrate pollution). These indicators however do not present a link between the agricultural activities and the environmental impact. The Nitrogen Balance presents a link between agricultural activities and the environmental impact; it identifies the factors which determine the N surplus and shows the change over time.

Assessment

Analysis at EU level

Data for EU-27 could only be compiled for 2005-2008. The Gross Nitrogen Surplus for EU-27 remained relative stable between 2005 and 2008 with an estimated average of 51 kg N per ha. Data for EU1-5 could be compiled for 2001-2008, showing that the Nitrogen balance for the EU-15 reduced between 2001 and 2008 from an estimated average of 66 kg N per ha in the period 2001-2004 to 58 kg N in the period 2005-2008. The Gross Nitrogen Surplus of the CEC countries is much lower than that of EU-15 with an estimated average of 33 kg N per ha in 2005-2008. The average GNS per ha is highest on average between 2005 and 2008 in countries in the North-West of Europe (BE, NL, NO, UK, DE, DK) and the Mediterranean islands MT and CY, while many of the Mediterranean (PT, IT, ES, EL) and CEC countries belong to the countries with the lowest N surpluses (Figure 1).
Another way of presenting the result of the Gross Nitrogen Balance is the Input/Output ratio, which gives an indication of the nitrogen use efficiency. It should however be noted that in the present methodology, N which is volatilised during animal housing, manure storage and with the application of fertilizers and manure, is included in total N Input. This part of the N is however not available to the crop. To estimate the Nitrogen Use Efficiency, the Gross Nitrogen Surplus would need to be corrected for the N-gas emissions. Figure 2 shows that the ratio between Total Nitrogen Inputs and Total Nitrogen Outputs is relatively high for CY, MT, NO, CZ, NL and DK which also have a high nutrient surplus per ha.

Publications

Main tables

Title(s) of second level folder (if any)
Title(s) of third level folder (if any)

Database

Title(s) of second level folder (if any)
Title(s) of third level folder (if any)

Dedicated section

Methodology / Metadata

<link to ESMS file, methodological publications, survey manuals, etc.>

Source data for tables, figures and maps (MS Excel)

Other information

<Regulations and other legal texts, communications from the Commission, administrative notes, Policy documents, …>

  • Regulation 1737/2005 (generating url [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32005R1737:EN:NOT Regulation 1737/2005]) of DD Month YYYY on ...
  • Directive 2003/86/EC (generating url [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32003L0086:EN:NOT Directive 2003/86/EC]) of DD Month YYYY on ...
  • Commission Decision 2003/86/EC (generating url [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32003D0086:EN:NOT Commission Decision 2003/86/EC]) of DD Month YYYY on ...

<For other documents such as Commission Proposals or Reports, see EUR-Lex search by natural number>

<For linking to database table, otherwise remove: {{{title}}} ({{{code}}})>

External links

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ PL, RO, HU, BG, LT, LV, EE, CZ, SI, SK
  2. ↑ Mark A. Sutton, Oene Oenema, Jan Willem Erisman, Adrian Leip, Hans van Grinsven &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; Wilfried Winiwarter. Too much of a good thing. Nature, Volume: 472, Pages: 159–161, 2011
  3. ↑ Mark A. Sutton, et al (eds). The European Nitrogen Assessment, Cambridge, 2011
  4. ↑ Sutton M.A. et al. Our Nutrient World. The challenge to produce more food &amp;amp;amp; energy with less pollution. Key Messages for Rio+20. Centre for Ecology &amp;amp;amp; Hydrology, 2012.

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