Regional nitrogen soil surface budgets Germany

Results of the nitrogen (N) soil surface balances for the districts in Germany for the period 1995 to 2017 are presented.

Biogas production and transfer of manure between districts are considered in the budget scheme. The surpluses of the national N soil surface budgets is 77 kg N/ha utilised agricultural land (UAA), while the surplus of the districts varies between 26 to 162 kg N/ha UAA (mean 2015 to 2017). Over the last 20 years the N surplus in Germany on the national level varied only slightly, but in districts with intensive livestock farming a significant amount of N in manure is transferred to arable farming regions with low N surplus.