Improved gridded ammonia emission inventory in China

As a major alkaline gas in the atmosphere, NH3 significantly impacts atmospheric chemistry, ecological environment, and biodiversity. Gridded NH3 emission inventories can significantly affect the accuracy of model concentrations and play a crucial role in the refinement of mitigation strategies. However, several uncertainties are still associated with existing NH3 emission inventories in China. Therefore, in this study, we focused on improving fertilizer-application-related NH3 emission inventories. We comprehensively evaluated the dates and times of fertilizer application to the major crops that are cultivated in China, improved the spatial allocation methods for NH3 emissions from crop-lands with different rice types, and established a gridded NH3 emission inventory for mainland China with a resolution of 5 min x 5 min in 2016. The results showed that the atmospheric NH3 emissions in mainland China amounted to 12.11 Tg, with livestock waste (44.8 %) and fertilizer application (38.6 %) being the two main NH3 emission sources in China. Obvious spatial variability in NH3 emissions was also identified, and high emissions were predominantly concentrated in North China. Further, NH3 emissions tended to be high in summer and low in winter, and the ratio for the July-January period was 3.08. Furthermore, maize and rice fertilization in summer was primarily responsible for the increase in NH3 emissions in China, and the evaluation of the spatial and temporal accuracy of the NH3 emission inventory established in this study using the WRF-Chem and ground-station- and satellite-based observations showed that it was more accurate than other inventories.

Automated summary

NH3 significantly impacts atmospheric chemistry, ecological environment, and biodiversity. This study focused on improving NH3 emission inventories related to fertilizer application in China. Livestock waste and fertilizer application are the main NH3 emission sources in China, with higher emissions concentrated in North China.