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Magnitude and uncertainty of nitrous oxide emissions from North America based on bottom-up and top-down approaches: Informing future research and national inventories
  • +27
  • Rongting Xu,
  • Hanqin Tian,
  • Naiqing Pan,
  • Rona Louise Thompson,
  • Josep G. Canadell,
  • Eric A. Davidson,
  • Cynthia Nevison,
  • Wilfried Winiwarter,
  • Hao Shi,
  • Shufen Pan,
  • Jinfeng Chang,
  • Philippe Ciais,
  • Shree R.S. Dangal,
  • Akihiko Ito,
  • Robert B. Jackson,
  • Fortunat Joos,
  • Ronny Lauerwald,
  • Sebastian Lienert,
  • Taylor Maavara,
  • Dylan B. Millet,
  • Peter A Raymond,
  • Pierre Regnier,
  • Francesco Nicola Tubiello,
  • Nicolas Vuichard,
  • Kelley C. Wells,
  • Chris Wilson,
  • Jia Yang,
  • Yuanzhi Yao,
  • Sönke Zaehle,
  • Feng Zhou
Rongting Xu
Auburn University
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Hanqin Tian
Auburn University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Naiqing Pan
Auburn University
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Rona Louise Thompson
Norwegian Institute for Air Research
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Josep G. Canadell
Global Carbon Project, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere
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Eric A. Davidson
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
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Cynthia Nevison
University of Colorado Boulder
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Wilfried Winiwarter
IIASA
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Hao Shi
Auburn University
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Shufen Pan
Auburn University
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Jinfeng Chang
Zhejiang University
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Philippe Ciais
Laboratory for Climate Sciences and the Environment (LSCE)
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Shree R.S. Dangal
Woods Hole Research Center
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Akihiko Ito
National Institute for Environmental Studies
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Robert B. Jackson
Stanford University
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Fortunat Joos
University of Bern
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Ronny Lauerwald
Université Libre de Bruxelles
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Sebastian Lienert
University of Bern Physics Institute Climate and Environmental Physics & Oschger Centre for Climate Change Research
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Taylor Maavara
School of the Environment, Yale University
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Dylan B. Millet
University of Minnesota
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Peter A Raymond
Yale University
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Pierre Regnier
Université Libre de Bruxelles
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Francesco Nicola Tubiello
FAO
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Nicolas Vuichard
LSCE-IPSL
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Kelley C. Wells
University of Minnesota
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Chris Wilson
Leeds University
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Jia Yang
Mississippi State University
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Yuanzhi Yao
Auburn University
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Sönke Zaehle
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
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Feng Zhou
Peking University
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Abstract

We synthesized N2O emissions over North America using 17 bottom-up (BU) estimates from 1980-2016 and five top-down (TD) estimates from 1998-2016. The BU-based total emission shows a slight increase owing to U.S. agriculture, while no consistent trend is shown in TD estimates. During 2007-2016, North American N2O emissions are estimated at 1.7 (1.0-3.0) Tg N yr-1 (BU) and 1.3 (0.9-1.5) Tg N yr-1 (TD). Anthropogenic emissions were twice larger than natural fluxes from soil and water. Direct agricultural and industrial activities accounted for 68% of total anthropogenic emissions, 71% of which was contributed by the U.S. Our estimates of U.S. agricultural emissions are comparable to the EPA greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, which includes estimates from IPCC tier 1 (emission factor) and tier 3 (process-based modeling) approaches. Conversely, our estimated agricultural emissions for Canada and Mexico are twice as large as the respective national GHG inventories based on tier 1 approaches.
16 Dec 2021Published in Geophysical Research Letters volume 48 issue 23. 10.1029/2021GL095264