But meanwhile, the Earth’s population is approaching 7 billion people, and so ongoing pressures for food production are continuing to increase. “There is no way to feed people without fixing huge amounts of nitrogen from the atmosphere, and that nitrogen is presently applied to crop plants very ineffectively.” says Falkowski.
So unless promising interventions are taken, the damage done by humans to the Earth’s nitrogen cycle will persist for decades or centuries. These promising interventions, which would be designed to reduce the need to use fertilizers that add nitrogen to ecological systems, could include:
- Using systematic crop rotations that would supply nitrogen that would otherwise be provided by fertilizers;
- Optimizing the timing and amounts of fertilizer applications, adopting selected breeding techniques or developing genetically engineered varieties of plants that would increase the efficiency of nitrogen use;
- Using traditional breeding techniques to boost the ability of economically important varieties of wheat, barley and rye to interact favorably with the microbial communities associated with plant root systems and do so in ways that enhance the efficiency of nitrogen use.
“While the processes of eutrophication have been recognized for many years, only recently have scientists been able to begin placing the anthropogenic processes in the context of an understanding of the broader biogeochemical cycles of the planet,” says Robert Burnap, an NSF Program Director. This is an important article because it concisely develops this understanding and also provides reasonable predictions regarding the economic and policy dimensions of the problem.”
Original Work:
Title of the Study: “The Evolution and Future of Earth’s Nitrogen Cycle”
Authors: Donald E. Canfield, Alexander N. Glazer, Paul G. Falkowski
Published in ‘Science’ in October 8, 2010 Issue, Vol. 330. No. 6001, Pp. 192-196, DOI: 10.1126/science.1186120
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About National Science Foundation (NSF)
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2010, its budget is about $ 6.9 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives over 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $ 400 million in professional and service contracts yearly. For more information, visit www.nsf.gov.
Source: NSF Press Release dated October 7, 2010.
