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 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, DC, EPA/600/S-02/003, 2002.
Impact/Purpose:
Information
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 brief 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: 1) the program describes 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) the program describes 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, 3) the program describes 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.