How ammonia emissions can impact climate change
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Often, when people think about climate change and livestock production, they think about methane, as there has been a lot of focus on reduction of methane from both the cattle themselves (enteric) as well as from manure storage. But methane is not the only driver of climate change from livestock production. Reactive nitrogen, which includes all biologically, chemically, and radiatively active nitrogen compounds in the atmosphere and biosphere, can play an important role in climate change. Nitrogen transforms and is lost through many pathways as it cycles through agricultural operations. The primary forms of reactive nitrogen lost are ammonia, nitrate, nitrous oxide, and N oxides. This loss of reactive nitrogen to the environment is of increasing concern as negative impacts on water, air quality, sensitive ecosystems, and climate can ultimately have negative consequences for human, animal and environmental health.