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OPPORTUNITIES IN NITROGEN MANAGEMENT RESEARCH: IMPROVING APPLICATIONS FOR PROVEN TECHNOLOGIES AND IDENTIFYING NEW TOOLS FOR MANAGING NITROGEN FLUX AND INPUT IN ECOSYSTEMS
Citation:
Jorgensen, E. OPPORTUNITIES IN NITROGEN MANAGEMENT RESEARCH: IMPROVING APPLICATIONS FOR PROVEN TECHNOLOGIES AND IDENTIFYING NEW TOOLS FOR MANAGING NITROGEN FLUX AND INPUT IN ECOSYSTEMS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/S-02/003, 2002.
Description:
The presence and distribution of undesirable quantities of bioavailable nitrogenous compounds in the
environment are issues of long-standing concern. Importantly for us today, deleterious effects
associated with high levels of nitrogen in the ecosystem are becoming everyday news events. Excess
nitrogen in the environment is associated with many large-scale environmental concerns, including
eutrophication of surface waters, toxic algae blooms, hypoxia, acid rain, and global warming.
Unfortunately, releases of nitrogen associated with anthropogenic activities are expected to rise
throughout the foreseeable future. Whereas our current technologies for managing nitrogen in the
environment are stressed, it is reasonable to project that they are likely to fail under the increased loads
of nitrogen that are projected for the future. The potential scale of the undesirable consequences are
such that it is prudent for us to consider reasonable management and research responses now. This
Issue Paper describes a proposed three-part research and management program that is a measured
response to concerns about nitrogen pollution, particularly in the eastern United States. The program
describes: 1) steps to be taken with regard to landscape management that will improve our knowledge
of nitrogen release and management as it relates to land use; 2) investigations needed that will improve
our understanding of the factors that prevent full implementation of nitrogen management technology
in the high use landscapes that comprise 35.2% of the land cover in the eastern United States; and,
3) research that is needed to help uncover cause-and-effect relationships among trophic levels that will
provide new tools for managing nitrogen, especially on low use landscapes that comprise 64.8% of the
land cover in the eastern United States.