Changes in biomass burning, wetland extent, or agriculture drive atmospheric NH3 trends in select African regions

Atmospheric ammonia (NH3) is a precursor to fine particulate matter and a source of nitrogen (N) deposition that can adversely affect ecosystem health. The main sources of NH<span class="inline-formula&...

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Autores principales:	J. E. Hickman, N. Andela, E. Dammers, L. Clarisse, P.-F. Coheur, M. Van Damme, C. A. Di Vittorio, M. Ossohou, C. Galy-Lacaux, K. Tsigaridis, S. E. Bauer
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Copernicus Publications 2021
Materias:	Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/ced0df0358b64428b48f897b744741f9
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:ced0df0358b64428b48f897b744741f92021-11-16T14:58:14ZChanges in biomass burning, wetland extent, or agriculture drive atmospheric NH<sub>3</sub> trends in select African regions10.5194/acp-21-16277-20211680-73161680-7324https://doaj.org/article/ced0df0358b64428b48f897b744741f92021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://acp.copernicus.org/articles/21/16277/2021/acp-21-16277-2021.pdfhttps://doaj.org/toc/1680-7316https://doaj.org/toc/1680-7324<p>Atmospheric ammonia (NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span>) is a precursor to fine particulate matter and a source of nitrogen (N) deposition that can adversely affect ecosystem health. The main sources of NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> – agriculture and biomass burning – are undergoing are or expected to undergo substantial changes in Africa. Although evidence of increasing NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> over parts of Africa has been observed, the mechanisms behind these trends are not well understood. Here we use observations of atmospheric NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> vertical column densities (VCDs) from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) along with other satellite observations of the land surface and atmosphere to evaluate how NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> concentrations have changed over Africa from 2008 through 2018, and what has caused those changes. In West Africa NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> VCDs are observed to increase during the late dry season, with increases of over 6 % yr<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> in Nigeria during February and March (<span class="inline-formula"><i>p</i><i><</i>0.01</span>). These positive trends are associated with increasing burned area and CO trends during these months, likely related to agricultural preparation. Increases are also observed in the Lake Victoria basin region, where they are associated with expanding agricultural area. In contrast, NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> VCDs declined over the Sudd wetlands in South Sudan by over 1.5 % yr<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>, though not significantly (<span class="inline-formula"><i>p</i>=0.28</span>). Annual maxima in NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> VCDs in South Sudan occur during February through May and are associated with the drying of temporarily flooded wetland soils, which favor emissions of NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span>. The change in mean NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> VCDs over the Sudd is strongly correlated with variation in wetland extent in the Sudd: in years when more area remained flooded during the dry season, NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> VCDs were lower (<span class="inline-formula"><i>r</i>=0.64</span>, <span class="inline-formula"><i>p</i><i><</i>0.05</span>). Relationships between biomass burning and NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> may be observed when evaluating national-scale statistics: countries with the highest rates of increasing NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> VCDs also had high rates of growth in CO VCDs; burned area displayed a similar pattern, though not significantly. Livestock numbers were also higher in countries with intermediate or high rates of NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> VCD growth. Fertilizer use in Africa is currently low but growing; implementing practices that can limit NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> losses from fertilizer as agriculture is intensified may help mitigate impacts on health and ecosystems.</p>J. E. HickmanN. AndelaN. AndelaE. DammersL. ClarisseP.-F. CoheurM. Van DammeC. A. Di VittorioM. OssohouM. OssohouC. Galy-LacauxK. TsigaridisK. TsigaridisS. E. BauerCopernicus PublicationsarticlePhysicsQC1-999ChemistryQD1-999ENAtmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol 21, Pp 16277-16291 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999
spellingShingle	Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 J. E. Hickman N. Andela N. Andela E. Dammers L. Clarisse P.-F. Coheur M. Van Damme C. A. Di Vittorio M. Ossohou M. Ossohou C. Galy-Lacaux K. Tsigaridis K. Tsigaridis S. E. Bauer Changes in biomass burning, wetland extent, or agriculture drive atmospheric NH<sub>3</sub> trends in select African regions
description	<p>Atmospheric ammonia (NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span>) is a precursor to fine particulate matter and a source of nitrogen (N) deposition that can adversely affect ecosystem health. The main sources of NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> – agriculture and biomass burning – are undergoing are or expected to undergo substantial changes in Africa. Although evidence of increasing NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> over parts of Africa has been observed, the mechanisms behind these trends are not well understood. Here we use observations of atmospheric NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> vertical column densities (VCDs) from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) along with other satellite observations of the land surface and atmosphere to evaluate how NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> concentrations have changed over Africa from 2008 through 2018, and what has caused those changes. In West Africa NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> VCDs are observed to increase during the late dry season, with increases of over 6 % yr<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> in Nigeria during February and March (<span class="inline-formula"><i>p</i><i><</i>0.01</span>). These positive trends are associated with increasing burned area and CO trends during these months, likely related to agricultural preparation. Increases are also observed in the Lake Victoria basin region, where they are associated with expanding agricultural area. In contrast, NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> VCDs declined over the Sudd wetlands in South Sudan by over 1.5 % yr<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>, though not significantly (<span class="inline-formula"><i>p</i>=0.28</span>). Annual maxima in NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> VCDs in South Sudan occur during February through May and are associated with the drying of temporarily flooded wetland soils, which favor emissions of NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span>. The change in mean NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> VCDs over the Sudd is strongly correlated with variation in wetland extent in the Sudd: in years when more area remained flooded during the dry season, NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> VCDs were lower (<span class="inline-formula"><i>r</i>=0.64</span>, <span class="inline-formula"><i>p</i><i><</i>0.05</span>). Relationships between biomass burning and NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> may be observed when evaluating national-scale statistics: countries with the highest rates of increasing NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> VCDs also had high rates of growth in CO VCDs; burned area displayed a similar pattern, though not significantly. Livestock numbers were also higher in countries with intermediate or high rates of NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> VCD growth. Fertilizer use in Africa is currently low but growing; implementing practices that can limit NH<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> losses from fertilizer as agriculture is intensified may help mitigate impacts on health and ecosystems.</p>
format	article
author	J. E. Hickman N. Andela N. Andela E. Dammers L. Clarisse P.-F. Coheur M. Van Damme C. A. Di Vittorio M. Ossohou M. Ossohou C. Galy-Lacaux K. Tsigaridis K. Tsigaridis S. E. Bauer
author_facet	J. E. Hickman N. Andela N. Andela E. Dammers L. Clarisse P.-F. Coheur M. Van Damme C. A. Di Vittorio M. Ossohou M. Ossohou C. Galy-Lacaux K. Tsigaridis K. Tsigaridis S. E. Bauer
author_sort	J. E. Hickman
title	Changes in biomass burning, wetland extent, or agriculture drive atmospheric NH<sub>3</sub> trends in select African regions
title_short	Changes in biomass burning, wetland extent, or agriculture drive atmospheric NH<sub>3</sub> trends in select African regions
title_full	Changes in biomass burning, wetland extent, or agriculture drive atmospheric NH<sub>3</sub> trends in select African regions
title_fullStr	Changes in biomass burning, wetland extent, or agriculture drive atmospheric NH<sub>3</sub> trends in select African regions
title_full_unstemmed	Changes in biomass burning, wetland extent, or agriculture drive atmospheric NH<sub>3</sub> trends in select African regions
title_sort	changes in biomass burning, wetland extent, or agriculture drive atmospheric nh<sub>3</sub> trends in select african regions
publisher	Copernicus Publications
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/ced0df0358b64428b48f897b744741f9
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Changes in biomass burning, wetland extent, or agriculture drive atmospheric NH<sub>3</sub> trends in select African regions

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