Air: Greenhouse Gases from Agriculture
Agriculture makes a major contribution to the emission of greenhouse gases. The gases are nitrous oxide, methane, and carbon dioxide. Nitrous oxide emissions are released primarily as a result of the application of nitrogen-based fertilizers and manures. Agricultural methane emissions are derived mostly from ruminant livestock and rice production, and carbon dioxide emissions are associated mainly with emerging changes in land use. In the coming decades, there will be pressure on global agricultural systems to increase the production of food to feed the world’s growing population; however, technologies are available to help achieve this in ways that also contribute to greenhouse gas mitigation from agricultural systems.