A high-resolution ammonia emission inventory for cropland and livestock production in China

Ammonia (NH₃) volatilization has negative impacts on ecosystem and human health and NH₃ emission from cropland and livestock accounts for approximately 90% of the total NH₃ emission, which also indicates nitrogen fertilizer loss and brings economic burden to farmers. We presented the main contents of topic 4 ‘Research on Ammonia Emission Inventory Compilation and Reduction Assessment for Cropland and Livestock Production’ in National Key Research and Development Program ‘High Efficiency Control Technology for Ammonia Emission Pollution from Cropland and Livestock Production’ and mainly focused on the latest progress of dynamic high-resolution ammonia emission inventory for cropland and livestock. This project developed the basic characteristic parameters and agricultural activity data set of both cropland and livestock production, then compiled the 1 km-resolution cropland nitrogen fertilizer and livestock NH₃ emission inventory of 2853 cities at county level in 2017. The NH₃ emission of cropland nitrogen fertilizer in China was 3.6 Tg of which the emission intensity in South China was higher than that in the North China. The total NH₃ emission inventory of livestock was 5.0 Tg of which the NH₃ emission in housing and manure spreading stage was higher. The North China Plain and Guangdong are the main emission hotspots and the emission peak was concentrated in spring and early summer. The GEOS-Chem atmospheric chemistry model was used to evaluate the air quality changes caused by various emission reduction scenarios, to guide the emission reduction strategies in demonstration area as well as provide information to localized emission characteristics and the fine management of agriculture in different regions.