Technologies for reduced N2O emission from food production

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N2O emissions represents a serious environmental problem created by agricultural production, and it will probably increase in the decades to come, driven by a growing global population and increasing prosperity. IPCC's guidelines for estimating national N 2O emissions are based on a linear relationship between fertilizer N input and N2O output. The current project challenges this base line assumption, and searches for options to reduce the N2O emission pr unit N input. Denitrification is recognized as th e primary source of N2O, and recent findings (UMB) suggest that its gaseous product ratio (N2O/N2) can be significantly altered by management. As we search for options to reduce the N2O/N2 product ratios at all scales (cellular, community, and whole soils ), knowledge and data are collected, which provide a fertile ground for mathematical modelling of N2O emission. Modelling will be an integrated part of the project, both as a support for experimental design, analyses of results and ultimately for developi ng novel elements for new predictive models of N2O emissions from agroecosystems. Past decades of research on N2O emission has provided few realistic mitigation options, for various reasons; high spatial and temporal variability of fluxes, complexity of controlling factors. Progress has also been limited by lack of adequate technologies as well as a dominance of empirical approaches. The current project draws heavily on expertise and established infrastructure within the team; robotized incubation syste ms to monitor gas production (NO, N2O, N2, O2, CO2), molecular tools to quantify relevant genes and their transcriptions. Yara has already invested substantially into the development of precision farming technologies, which in itself reduce N2O emission s through the obtained increase in nitrogen use efficiency.The present project holds potential for strengthening the N2O dimension of their established precision farming portfolio. In conclusion,