How Much Fertilizer Is Too Much for the Climate?

Helping farmers around the globe apply more-precise amounts of nitrogen-based fertilizer can help combat climate change.  In a new study, researchers provide an improved prediction of nitrogen fertilizer's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural fields.  The study uses data from around the world to show that emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas produced in the soil following nitrogen addition, rise faster than previously expected when fertilizer rates exceed crop needs.

How Much Fertilizer Is Too Much for the Climate?