Managing reactive nitrogen in agricultural systems under future conditions in Austria

The recently funded NitroClim.AT project will provide a cost estimate of agricultural management strategies for Austrian agricultural systems that minimize Nr losses to surface water bodies and to the atmosphere under future climate and future socio-economic and policy scenarios. First results of simulated Nr emissions to water bodies in typical agricultural production regions of Austria under future climate and socio-economic and policy scenarios will be presented.

The emissions of reactive nitrogen (Nr) into our environment from fertilizer amendments lie at the heart of conventional intensive agricultural production systems. As part of the Austrian Climate Research Programme, the project NitroClim.AT has the objective to provide a cost estimate of agricultural management strategies for Austrian agricultural systems that minimize Nr losses to surface water bodies and to the atmosphere under future climate and future socio-economic and policy scenarios. In the on-going project, an integrated modelling framework (IMF) tracks Nr emissions, starting with the inputs into cropping systems and simulates them through the flow paths in agricultural and water systems. The framework consists of a biophysical crop model (EPIC), an economic land use model (BiomAT), a substance transport model MONERIS based on MoRE, and the eco-hydrological model SWAT.