Integrated measures in agriculture to reduce ammonia emissions

Funding

Alterra, Wageningen

Sub-contract of project: European Commission, Directorate-General Environment, Contract no. 070501/2005/422822/MAR/C1

Duration

January 2006 – July 2007

Organisation

Project leader: Alterra, Wageningen, The Netherlands

Consortium composed by:

• Agrotechnology & Food Sciences Group (A&F), Wageningen
  
• EuroCARE GmbH

Sub-contractors:

• Umweltbundesamt Wien, Austria
  
• Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP), Anthonie van Leeuwenhoekstraat, The Netherlands
  
• Institute for Land Reclamation and Grassland Farming (IMUZ), Raszyn, Poland
  
• Instituto Vasco de Investigación Agraria (NEIKER), Derio (Bizkaia), Espana
  
• Netherlands Energy Center (ECN), Petten, The Netherlands
  
• Center for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Objectives

The objective of the project is to define the most appropriate integrated and consistent actions to reduce various environmental impacts (notably water, air, climate change) from agriculture. Specifically, the objective is to develop and apply a methodology allowing to assess and quantify the costs and the effects of various policies and measures aiming at reducing the impact of agriculture on water, air pollution and climate change. Both ancillary benefits and trade offs of measures need to be identified. The impacts and feasibility of the most promising measures need to be analysed in depth.

Tasks

The service is divided in five tasks:

Task 1: Develop an integrated approach

Task 2: Analysis of International and European Instruments

Task 3: In depth assessment of the most promising measures

Task 4: Impact assessment of a possible modification of the IPCC Directive

Task 5: Stakeholder consultation, presentations, workshops

Tasks for EuroCARE

EuroCARE in mainly involved in task 1 und task 3 for modelling issues.

A combination of tools is used in a coherent framework. This combination of the modelling tools consist of CAPRI, Miterra, GAINS/RAINS and INITIATOR , supplemented with knowledge and expertise about ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen leaching processes. This combination of models, databases and expert knowledge about processes will be exploited so as to achieve the objectives.

Additional information:

• Oenema, O., Oudendag, D.A., Witzke, H.P., Monteny, G.J., Velthof, G.L., Pietrzak, S., Pinto, M., Britz, W., Schwaiger, E., Erisman, J.W., Vries, W. de, Grinsven, J.J.M. van, Sutton, M. (2007): Integrated measures in agriculture to reduce ammonia emissions. Final report, Wageningen, Alterra.
• Velthof, G.L., O. Oenema & P.J. Kuikman (2002) Miterra-DSS: a decision support system to optimize the mitigation of greenhouse gases from agriculture. In: J. van Ham, A.P.M. Baede, R. Guicherit & J.G.F.M. Williams-Jacobse (eds.) Non-CO2 greenhouse gases: scientific understanding, control options and policy aspects. Millpress Science Publishers, Rotterdam, pp. 505 - 506.
• BRITZ W. (eds) (2004): CAPRI Modelling System Documentation, Final report of the FP5 shared cost project CAP-STRAT "Common Agricultural Policy Strategy for Regions, Agriculture and Trade", QLTR-2000-00394; Bonn, Universität Bonn
• De Vries W, J. Kros1, O. Oenema and J. de Klein (2002) Uncertainties in the fate of nitrogen II: A quantitative assessment of the uncertainties in major nitrogen fluxes in the Netherlands. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 66, 71 - 102.
• Alcamo J., R. Shaw, und Hordijk L. (eds) (1990): DThe RAINS Model of Acidification: Science and Strategies in Europe. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.