Toward a nitrogen footprint calculator for Tanzania
We present the first nitrogen footprint model for a developing country: Tanzania. Nitrogen (N) is a crucial element for agriculture and human nutrition, but in excess it can cause serious environmental damage. The Sub-Saharan African nation of Tanzania faces a two-sided nitrogen problem: while there...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2017
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/80899 |
| _version_ | 1855531122271715328 |
|---|---|
| author | Hutton, M.O. Leach, A. Leip, A. Galloway, J.N. Bekunda, Mateete A. Sullivan, C. Lesschen, Jan Peter |
| author_browse | Bekunda, Mateete A. Galloway, J.N. Hutton, M.O. Leach, A. Leip, A. Lesschen, Jan Peter Sullivan, C. |
| author_facet | Hutton, M.O. Leach, A. Leip, A. Galloway, J.N. Bekunda, Mateete A. Sullivan, C. Lesschen, Jan Peter |
| author_sort | Hutton, M.O. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | We present the first nitrogen footprint model for a developing country: Tanzania. Nitrogen (N) is a crucial element for agriculture and human nutrition, but in excess it can cause serious environmental damage. The Sub-Saharan African nation of Tanzania faces a two-sided nitrogen problem: while there is not enough soil nitrogen to produce adequate food, excess nitrogen that escapes into the environment causes a cascade of ecological and human health problems. To identify, quantify, and contribute to solving these problems, this paper presents a nitrogen footprint tool for Tanzania. This nitrogen footprint tool is a concept originally designed for the United States of America (USA) and other developed countries. It uses personal resource consumption data to calculate a per-capita nitrogen footprint. The Tanzania N footprint tool is a version adapted to reflect the low-input, integrated agricultural system of Tanzania. This is reflected by calculating two sets of virtual N factors to describe N losses during food production: one for fertilized farms and one for unfertilized farms. Soil mining factors are also calculated for the first time to address the amount of N removed from the soil to produce food. The average per-capita nitrogen footprint of Tanzania is 10 kg N yr−1. 88% of this footprint is due to food consumption and production, while only 12% of the footprint is due to energy use. Although 91% of farms in Tanzania are unfertilized, the large contribution of fertilized farms to N losses causes unfertilized farms to make up just 83% of the food production N footprint. In a developing country like Tanzania, the main audiences for the N footprint tool are community leaders, planners, and developers who can impact decision-making and use the calculator to plan positive changes for nitrogen sustainability in the developing world. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace80899 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace808992025-11-11T10:36:02Z Toward a nitrogen footprint calculator for Tanzania Hutton, M.O. Leach, A. Leip, A. Galloway, J.N. Bekunda, Mateete A. Sullivan, C. Lesschen, Jan Peter nitrogen sub-saharan africa biological footprint We present the first nitrogen footprint model for a developing country: Tanzania. Nitrogen (N) is a crucial element for agriculture and human nutrition, but in excess it can cause serious environmental damage. The Sub-Saharan African nation of Tanzania faces a two-sided nitrogen problem: while there is not enough soil nitrogen to produce adequate food, excess nitrogen that escapes into the environment causes a cascade of ecological and human health problems. To identify, quantify, and contribute to solving these problems, this paper presents a nitrogen footprint tool for Tanzania. This nitrogen footprint tool is a concept originally designed for the United States of America (USA) and other developed countries. It uses personal resource consumption data to calculate a per-capita nitrogen footprint. The Tanzania N footprint tool is a version adapted to reflect the low-input, integrated agricultural system of Tanzania. This is reflected by calculating two sets of virtual N factors to describe N losses during food production: one for fertilized farms and one for unfertilized farms. Soil mining factors are also calculated for the first time to address the amount of N removed from the soil to produce food. The average per-capita nitrogen footprint of Tanzania is 10 kg N yr−1. 88% of this footprint is due to food consumption and production, while only 12% of the footprint is due to energy use. Although 91% of farms in Tanzania are unfertilized, the large contribution of fertilized farms to N losses causes unfertilized farms to make up just 83% of the food production N footprint. In a developing country like Tanzania, the main audiences for the N footprint tool are community leaders, planners, and developers who can impact decision-making and use the calculator to plan positive changes for nitrogen sustainability in the developing world. 2017 2017-05-08T12:56:35Z 2017-05-08T12:56:35Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/80899 en Open Access application/pdf Hutton, M.O., Leach, A., Leip, A., Galloway, J.N., Bekunda, M., Sullivan, C. & Lesschen, J.P. (2017). Toward a nitrogen footprint calculator for Tanzania. Environmental Research Letters, 12. |
| spellingShingle | nitrogen sub-saharan africa biological footprint Hutton, M.O. Leach, A. Leip, A. Galloway, J.N. Bekunda, Mateete A. Sullivan, C. Lesschen, Jan Peter Toward a nitrogen footprint calculator for Tanzania |
| title | Toward a nitrogen footprint calculator for Tanzania |
| title_full | Toward a nitrogen footprint calculator for Tanzania |
| title_fullStr | Toward a nitrogen footprint calculator for Tanzania |
| title_full_unstemmed | Toward a nitrogen footprint calculator for Tanzania |
| title_short | Toward a nitrogen footprint calculator for Tanzania |
| title_sort | toward a nitrogen footprint calculator for tanzania |
| topic | nitrogen sub-saharan africa biological footprint |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/80899 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT huttonmo towardanitrogenfootprintcalculatorfortanzania AT leacha towardanitrogenfootprintcalculatorfortanzania AT leipa towardanitrogenfootprintcalculatorfortanzania AT gallowayjn towardanitrogenfootprintcalculatorfortanzania AT bekundamateetea towardanitrogenfootprintcalculatorfortanzania AT sullivanc towardanitrogenfootprintcalculatorfortanzania AT lesschenjanpeter towardanitrogenfootprintcalculatorfortanzania |