Embargo - 00:01 Friday 20 November 2009
Press release 2009/18 - Issued by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Overuse of nitrogen fertiliser threatens global biodiversity hotspots
The earth’s natural biodiversity is under threat from too much nitrogen - this is the conclusion of a conference held in Edinburgh this week, which was attended by over 100 scientists from 30 countries.
In order to feed ourselves, humans have roughly doubled the global supply of reactive nitrogen since the Second World War. Unreactive nitrogen naturally exists in the atmosphere, but we have been converting this into a mass of different reactive nitrogen forms that are not good news for our environment. This includes ammonia emissions from agricultural fertilizer and livestock, exacerbated by emissions of nitrogen oxides from fossil fuel combustion.
Much of the reactive nitrogen is emitted back into the atmosphere, where it disperses and eventually lands on natural ecosystems. The end result threatens the world’s valuable biodiversity, leading to losses of rare species and damaging the services to people which ecosystems provide.
The conference brought together experts working under two United Nations conventions - the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution – for the first time.
The conference was hosted by Dr Mark Sutton of the UK’s Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Dr Sutton said, “This conference has been extremely important in bringing these conventions together – it is only by joining forces that we can start to deal with this threat more effectively. The conventions will be issuing joint recommendations following the meeting and have established a desire to work closely in the future”.
The scale of the problem is illustrated by new findings from a team led by Dr Albert Bleeker, from the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands, which were presented at the Edinburgh conference. The scientists examined the global distribution of protected areas under the Convention on Biological Diversity as well as global biodiversity hotspots and compared these with estimated rates of reactive nitrogen fall out from the atmosphere. Their analysis suggests that 40% of the number of protected areas currently receive nitrogen that is in excess of sustainable limits. Of the global biodiversity hotspots, they identify the Himalayan and south east China forests as being especially at risk.
Dr Bleeker explains: “We compared the reactive nitrogen values for 2004 and those projected for 2030 and found that the problem will get even worse as nitrogen emissions continue to increase. This over-fertilization effect represents a major threat to global biodiversity.”
Dr Sutton continues: “This is the first of many stories that will be coming out about the effects of generating too much reactive nitrogen in the coming months. Nitrogen’s role in the food security and climate change debate has not been given the attention it deserves to date, which needs to change."
Nitrogen’s role in climate change will be highlighted at an event on 7 December at the COP-15 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.
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Notes for editors
For further information contact Kate Groves, PR Manager, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Telephone +44 (0)1491 692 358, M: +44 (0)7920 727 653 or email groves@ceh.ac.uk.
The nitrogen side event at COP-15 has been organised by the International Nitrogen Initiative and the UK’s Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. It will take place on 7 December from 18.00 to 20.00 at the U.S. Center, Hall C5, Bella Centre, Copenhagen.
The United Nations Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution was established in Geneva in 1979. The convention was responsible for the 1999 Gothenburg Protocol, which reduced emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and ammonia. This protocol is currently under revision.
The Edinburgh conference was organised by International Nitrogen Initiative. Dr Mark Sutton, the conference host, is one of the co-chairs of the Task Force on Reactive Nitrogen of the United Nations Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution and coordinator of the European Commission integrated project, NitroEurope.
The Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) is the UK's Centre of Excellence for integrated research in the land and freshwater ecosystems and their interaction with the atmosphere. CEH is part of the Natural Environment Research Council and employs more than 450 people at five major sites in England, Scotland and Wales with an overall budget of about £35m. CEH also hosts more than 150 PhD students. CEH tackles complex environmental challenges to deliver practicable solutions so that future generations can benefit from a rich and healthy environment.
