Acidification of European croplands by nitrogen fertilization

Consequences for carbonate losses, and soil health

authored by

Kazem Zamanian, Ruhollah Taghizadeh-Mehrjardi, Jingjing Tao, Lichao Fan, Sajjad Raza, Georg Guggenberger, Yakov Kuzyakov

Abstract

Soil acidification is an ongoing problem in intensively cultivated croplands due to inefficient nitrogen (N) fertilization. We collected high-resolution data comprising 19,969 topsoil (0-20 cm) samples from the Land Use and Coverage Area frame Survey (LUCAS) of the European commission in 2009 to calculate the impact of N fertilization on buffering substances such as carbonates and base cations. We have only considered the impacts of mineral fertilizers from the total added N, and a N use efficiency of 60 %. Nitrogen fertilization adds annually 6.1 × 10

7 kmol H

+ to European croplands, leading to annual loss of 6.1 × 10

9 kg CaCO

3. Assuming similar acidification during the last 50 years, carbonates were completely removed from 3.4 × 10

6 ha of European croplands. In carbonate-free soils, annual loss of 2.1 × 10

7 kmol of basic cations will lead to strong acidification of at least 2.6 million ha of European croplands within the next 50 years. Inorganic carbon and basic cation losses at such rapid scale tremendously drop the nutrient status and production potential of croplands. Soil liming to ameliorate acidity increases pH only temporarily and with additional financial and environmental costs. Only the direct loss of soil carbonate stocks and compensation of carbonates-related CO

2 correspond to about 1.5 % of the proposed budget of the European commission for 2023. Thus, controlling and decreasing soil acidification is crucial to avoid degradation of agricultural soils, which can be done by adopting best management practices and increasing nutrient use efficiency. Regular screening or monitoring of carbonate and base cations contents, especially for soils, where the carbonate stocks are at critical levels are urgently necessary.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Soil Science

External Organisation(s)

Ardakan University
Northwest Normal University
Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology
University of Göttingen

Type

Article

Journal

Science of the Total Environment

Volume

924

ISSN

0048-9697

Publication date

10.05.2024

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Pollution, Waste Management and Disposal, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Chemistry

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 15 - Life on Land, SDG 2 - Zero Hunger

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171631 (Access: Open)