A new study shows that ammonia released from intensive livestock farms can significantly increase nearby soil emissions of nitrous oxide, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change and ozone depletion.
The research, published in Nitrogen Cycling, reveals that atmospheric ammonia deposition around livestock facilities can stimulate soil microbial processes that generate nitrous oxide, highlighting an overlooked pathway linking livestock pollution to global warming.
Livestock farming is the largest global source of ammonia emissions. When ammonia escapes from animal housing and manure storage, it can travel through the air and deposit onto surrounding soils and ecosystems. Although ammonia itself is not a greenhouse gas, scientists have long suspected that it may indirectly influence climate by altering nitrogen cycling in soils.
To investigate this possibility, researchers conducted field measurements near a large pig farm in central China. They monitored soil nitrous oxide emissions at multiple locations ranging from 50 to 500 meters downwind of the farm, capturing the natural gradient of ammonia deposition across the landscape.
The results showed a clear pattern. Areas receiving higher ammonia deposition produced significantly more nitrous oxide from the soil.
"Our findings demonstrate that ammonia deposition from livestock farms can stimulate soil microbial activity and lead to increased emissions of nitrous oxide," said the study's corresponding author Jianlin Shen. "This process represents an important but often overlooked link between ammonia pollution and climate change."
Nitrous oxide is one of the most potent greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Over a 100 year period it has a global warming potential nearly 300 times greater than carbon dioxide. It is also the dominant ozone depleting substance emitted today.
The researchers found that soil nitrous oxide emissions decreased steadily with increasing distance from the pig farm. Within a 500 meter radius of the farm, total nitrous oxide emissions were estimated to reach about 69.7 kilograms of nitrogen per year. This represented roughly 1.3 percent of the ammonia nitrogen deposited in the area, slightly higher than the emission factor commonly used in international climate assessments.
To understand the underlying mechanism, the team also examined microbial genes responsible for nitrogen cycling in the soil. They discovered that ammonia deposition increased the abundance of ammonia oxidizing archaea, microorganisms that convert ammonium into nitrate through a process known as nitrification.
This microbial activity turned out to be a key driver of nitrous oxide production.
"As ammonia accumulates in soil, it provides more substrate for nitrifying microbes," Shen explained. "These microbes then produce nitrous oxide as a byproduct during the nitrification process."
Laboratory experiments confirmed this mechanism. When soils were supplied with ammonium based nitrogen sources, nitrous oxide emissions were significantly higher than when nitrate was added. The results suggest that ammonia and ammonium deposition can enhance nitrous oxide production more strongly than oxidized nitrogen inputs.
The findings highlight the broader environmental impact of ammonia emissions from livestock production. While ammonia pollution is often studied for its effects on air quality and ecosystem nitrogen deposition, its potential role in amplifying greenhouse gas emissions has received less attention.
"This study suggests that ammonia deposition near animal farms could act as a secondary source of agricultural nitrous oxide emissions," Shen said. "Reducing ammonia emissions from livestock systems could therefore help mitigate both air pollution and climate change."
As livestock production continues to expand worldwide, understanding these hidden links between agricultural emissions and climate processes will be essential for developing more sustainable farming systems.
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Journal Reference: Yi W, Liu G, Kang M, Wang J, Yuan H, et al. 2026. Increased soil N2O emissions under natural gradient of atmospheric NH3 deposition. Nitrogen Cycling 2: e011 doi: 10.48130/nc-0025-0023
https://www.maxapress.com/article/doi/10.48130/nc-0025-0023
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About Nitrogen Cycling :
Nitrogen Cycling (e-ISSN 3069-8111) is a multidisciplinary platform for communicating advances in fundamental and applied research on the nitrogen cycle. It is dedicated to serving as an innovative, efficient, and professional platform for researchers in the field of nitrogen cycling worldwide to deliver findings from this rapidly expanding field of science.
