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Science 16 May 2008:
Vol. 320. no. 5878, pp. 889 - 892
DOI: 10.1126/science.1136674
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Review

Transformation of the Nitrogen Cycle: Recent Trends, Questions, and Potential Solutions

James N. Galloway,1* Alan R. Townsend,2 Jan Willem Erisman,3 Mateete Bekunda,4 Zucong Cai,5 John R. Freney,6 Luiz A. Martinelli,7 Sybil P. Seitzinger,8 Mark A. Sutton9

Humans continue to transform the global nitrogen cycle at a record pace, reflecting an increased combustion of fossil fuels, growing demand for nitrogen in agriculture and industry, and pervasive inefficiencies in its use. Much anthropogenic nitrogen is lost to air, water, and land to cause a cascade of environmental and human health problems. Simultaneously, food production in some parts of the world is nitrogen-deficient, highlighting inequities in the distribution of nitrogen-containing fertilizers. Optimizing the need for a key human resource while minimizing its negative consequences requires an integrated interdisciplinary approach and the development of strategies to decrease nitrogen-containing waste.

1 Environmental Sciences Department, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA.
2 Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Campus Box 450, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
3 Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands, ECN, Post Office Box 1, 1755 ZG Petten, Netherlands.
4 Faculty of Agriculture, Makerere University, Post Office Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
5 Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China.
6 Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Plant Industry, GPO Box 1600, Canberra, A.C.T., Australia.
7 Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura-Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Centenario, 303, Piracicaba-SP, Brazil.
8 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Cooperative Marine Education and Research Program, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
9 Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh Research Station, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0QB, UK.

* To whom correspondence should be sent. E-mail: jng{at}virginia.edu

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