Emission of greenhouse gases from nitrogen fertilization in Mexico

Abstract

Mexican agriculture is an important source of greenhouse gases, mainly through nitrogen fertilization that emits an important greenhouse gas: nitrous oxide, which represents 50.4% of the emissions of the sector in equivalent units of carbon dioxide. However, the importance of such emissions, reliable estimates are not available. The objective of this research was to quantify the emissions of greenhouse gases produced by nitrogen fertilization in Mexican agriculture, during the period 1980-2014. The method followed for the quantification of these emissions is the one proposed by: the environmental protection agency of the United States of America (USA), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The total applications of the different nitrogenous fertilizers in Mexican agriculture from 1980 to 2014 were quantified and nitrous oxide emissions and their conversion into equivalent units of carbon dioxide were estimated. It was concluded that the use of chemical fertilizers in Mexican agriculture is inefficient, because the costs of nitrous oxide emissions are not taken into account when deciding the amount of nitrogen to be applied per hectare. Consequently, the costs of nitrous oxide emissions produced by nitrogenous chemical fertilizers must be quantified and, based on this, an efficient policy for the application of fertilizers and for abatement of the emissions they produce must be defined.