Ammonia emitted from agricultural sources

Quantities of Ammonia Emitted from Agricultural Sources... 

Ammonium in aerosols originates from the neutralisation of sulphuric and nitric acid by ammonia. Ammonia is emitted by different sources, most notably animal manure, traffic and application of fertiliser. In general, emissions are for the largest part (80-95%) associated with agricultural activities [19]. Erisman et al. [20] estimated the natural emissions at about 10% of the total emissions in Europe. This percentage includes contributions from wild animals and wetlands. We assume a similar percentage for ammonium in north-western Europe. 

As mentioned previously, we could not find a correlation between the proton and ammonium concentrations in precipitation. The ammonium in rain water is a mixture of ammonium from different orglns. We looked, therefore, for any relationship between the proton concentraton in precipitation CXI the one hand, and the quantity of ammonia emitted in The Netherlands on the other. In The Netherlands, there are hardly any ammonia emitters the quantity emitted by industry is very anall. The major source of ammonia has to be found in our fertilizers. Of course, only a few percent of the fertilizer used for agricultural purposes will disappear into the atmosphere. The quantities of fertilizer used in The Netherlands amounted, expressed as nitrogen, from 307 x 103 tons in I960 to 590 x 103 tons in 1978 (see Table 9). 

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