Statistics Explained

Archive:Agri-environmental indicator - ammonia emissions

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

This article provides a fact sheet of the European Union (EU) agri-environmental indicator "Amonia emissions". It consists of an overview of recent data, complemented by all information on definitions, measurement methods and context needed to interpret them correctly. The Intensification/extensification article is part of a set of similar fact sheets providing a complete picture of the state of the agri-environmental indicators in the EU.

The indicator shows the annual atmospheric emissions of ammonia (NH3) in the EU-27 for 1990-2010, and the contribution agriculture made to total EU-27 emissions of NH3 in 2010.

Main indicator:

  • Ammonia emissions from agriculture (kilotonnes per year)

Supporting indicator:

  • Share of agriculture in total ammonia emissions (%) 

Main statistical findings

Key messages

  • In 2010, the EU-27 agricultural sector emitted a total of 3 364 kilotonnes of ammonia, and was responsible for 94 % of total ammonia emissions across the region.
  • Emissions of ammonia from the agriculture sector have decreased by 30 % compared with 1990. This is mainly due to the reduction in livestock numbers (especially cattle), changes in the management of organic manures and from the decreased use of nitrogenous fertilisers.
  • The largest emission reductions between 1990 and 2010 have occurred in the Netherlands (-68 %), Latvia (-66 %), Bulgaria ( 66 %) and Lithuania (-64 %). Only Spain (+15 %) and Cyprus (+0.1 %) reported increased ammonia emissions during this period.

 Assessment

Within the EU-27, emissions of NH3 from agriculture have decreased by 30 % between 1990 and 2010 (Figure 1). However, the agriculture sector remains responsible for the vast majority of ammonia emissions within the EU-27, and in 2010 was responsible for 94% (3 364 kilotonnes) of the total ammonia emissions from across the EU region (Figure 2). The majority of the reduction reported since 1990 is due to a combination of reduced livestock numbers across Europe (especially cattle) (Figure 3), and the lower use of nitrogenous fertilisers across the EU-27 region (Figure 4).
Including emissions from all economic sectors, the EU-27 region as a whole has met the 2010 NEC Directive 0081/2001 emission ceilings for NH3 and the vast majority of EU-27 Member States also met their individual 2010 national targets on the basis of preliminary emissions data reported at the end of 2011. Two Member States (Finland and Spain) report they did not meet their NH3 ceiling [1]. The largest decrease in NH3 emissions occurred between 1990 and 1993 in the EU. Emissions of NH3 continued to decline in most years since, albeit gradually. The downward trend is expected to continue, mainly due to further expected reductions in livestock numbers, especially cattle and pigs, and improvements in manure management.
Although the total decrease in agricultural ammonia emissions across the EU-27 was 30 % between 1990 and 2010, individual Member States had widely varying trends (Figure 5). A number of Member States have achieved reductions in excess of 40 % during this period with the Netherlands (-68 %), Latvia (-66 %), Bulgaria (-66 %) and Lithuania (-64%) reporting the largest decreases. In contrast, Spain (+15 %) and Cyprus (+0.1 %) have both seen emissions of ammonia from agriculture increase between 1990 and 2010.
One of the contributory reasons for the large increase in ammonia emissions observed in Spain is due to increased numbers of cattle, swine and poultry that occurred between 1990 and 2010. In contrast the large decrease in emissions observed in the Netherlands is mainly due to a change in agricultural practices that have been aimed at minimising ammonia emissions. Specifically, manure spreading by broadcasting on the soil surface has been phased out, and has instead been replaced by application of slurries by injection or band spreading and rapid incorporation of manure into the soil. However, the side effect of this measure can be to increase the amount of mineral nitrogen retained in the soil that, under anaerobic conditions, could be emitted as N2O [2]. However, not all studies have reported increases in N2O emission following injection of liquid manures [3] or immediate incorporation of litter-based solid manures [4]. In consequence the impacts of ammonia abatement on N2O emission are highly uncertain. Incorporation of manure can also lead to increased nitrate leaching and subsequent pollution of water resources, although the impact on nitrate leaching is very dependent upon the seasonal time of manure application [5]. These examples help illustrate how dependent the ammonia emissions within countries can be to the levels of livestock populations and types of agricultural practice followed.
The share of ammonia emissions that occur from the agriculture sector are shown by Member State in Figure 6. In most EU-27 Member States agriculture contributes over 90 % of the total ammonia emissions. However, a number of Member States (Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom) report lower contributions due to a relatively larger proportion of ammonia emissions being reported from other sectors of their economies e.g. in Bulgaria from road transport, waste and industrial processes.
Figure 7 shows the amounts of ammonia emitted from the manure management and agricultural soils sub-sectors. France as the leading agriculture producer of the EU-27 is the largest emitter, emitting 19 % of all EU agricultural emissions of NH3 in 2010. Germany produced the second highest absolute emissions of ammonia after France, accounting for 15 % of the EU-27 agricultural total. Italy, Spain, Poland and the United Kingdom are also significant emitters of ammonia. Differences between all countries are generally due to the types and numbers of livestock held within each country coupled with other factors previously described such as climatic, agricultural management, and stock feed differences.
Figure 8 shows the aggregated emissions of agricultural NH3 expressed per utilised agricultural area (UAA). This analysis provides one measure of the intensity of agricultural activity within a country, and illustrates how the varying land use and agricultural practices across the EU-27 results in variations in emissions intensity occurring. Three Member States, Malta, the Netherlands and Belgium have significantly higher emissions per UAA than the other EU-27 Member States, directly reflecting the higher intensification of agricultural activities within these three countries.  

Data sources and availability

Indicator definition

The indicator shows the annual atmospheric emissions of ammonia (NH3) in the EU-27 for 1990-2010, and the contribution agriculture made to total EU-27 emissions of NH3 in 2010.

Measurements

Main indicator:

  • Ammonia emissions from agriculture (kilotonnes per year)

Supporting indicator:

  • Share of agriculture in total ammonia emissions (%)

Links with other indicators

The indicator "Ammonia emissions " is linked to following other indicators:

AEI 05 - Mineral fertiliser consumption AEI 11.2 - Tillage practices AEI 19 - Water quality - Pesticide pollution
AEI 10.1 - Cropping patterns AEI 11.3 - Manure storage AEI 26 - Soil quality
AEI 10.2 - Livestock patterns AEI 12 - Intensification/Extensification AEI 27.1 - Water quality - Nitrate pollution
AEI 11.1 - Soil cover AEI 15 - Gross nitrogen balance -


 

 

 

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External links

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ European Union emission inventory report 1990 — 2010 under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP) Technical report No. 8/2012. European Environment Agency, Copenhagen.
  2. ↑ Olivier, J. G. J. Thomas, R., Brandes, L.J., Peters, J.A.H.W., and Coenen, P.W.H.G. (2002). Greenhouse gas emissions in the Netherlands 1990–2000. National Inventory Report 2002, RIVM Report 773201 006/2002, Bilthoven.
  3. ↑ Sommer, S. G., Sherlock, R. R., and Khan, R. Z. (1996). Nitrous oxide and methane emissions from pig slurry amended soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 28, 1541-1544.
  4. ↑ Webb, J., Chadwick, D., and Ellis, S. (2004). Emissions of ammonia and nitrous oxide following rapid incorporation of farmyard manures stored at different densities. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 70, 67-76.
  5. ↑ Webb J, Henderson D, Anthony SA (2001) Optimising livestock manure applications to reduce nitrate and ammonia pollution: scenario analysis using the MANNER model. Soil Use and Management. 17, 188-94.

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