All plants need nitrogen to live. Intensified agriculture supplies plants with large quantities of nitrogen compounds via fertilizers and animal feed. Across Germany, an average of 92 kilograms of unused nitrogen per hectare of agricultural land is released into the environment each year – with an existing legal limit of 80 kilograms per hectare – and accumulates in groundwater, surface waters and soils. Targeted, efficient and demand-oriented application technologies can lead to a significant reduction.
This "acatech on Tuesday" looks at different strategies for reducing the nitrogen content of soils: How must the framework conditions be changed? What contribution can sustainable consumption and informed purchasing decisions make?