Scope and consequence of fertilizer on global emissions and its effect on climate change

Intensive agriculture is the only way to feed the projected 9 billion people on the planet (FAO, 2002) by the end of this century. Agriculture is a major contributor of 10-12% of total global anthropogenic Green House Gases (GHG) to the atmosphere, but the emissions vary depending on the land use and the way that the land is managed. Fertilizer, energy - and chemical-intensive farming also contribute to the increased levels of greenhouse gas emissions, primarily as a result of the overuse of fertilizers, land clearance, soil degradation, and intensive animal farming. The Green House Gases (GHG) emissions from agriculture are (i) Nitrous oxide (N
₂
O) resulting from excess fertilizer, results emissions from soil contributing to climate change (ii) Methane (CH
₄
) from rice fields and enteric fermentation of cattle constitute emissions from agriculture (iii) Annual exchanges of CO
₂
between the atmosphere and agricultural lands, the net flux is estimated to be approximately balanced, with CO
₂
emissions. Assessing GHG emissions on laboratory, field and large scale is tedious, time consuming and laborious. This paper discuss about the activities and its consequences around the globe.