Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research Platform - InveN2Ory. Defra project number AC0116

The overall objective of this project was to build upon previous studies reducing uncertainty in the UK national agricultural nitrous oxide (N2O) inventory and enhancing regional inventory reporting through increased understanding of processes and factors controlling emissions. Through five interlinked work packages measured and modelled emission factors (EFs) were generated, verified cost-effective mitigation methods tested e.g. nitrification inhibitors and nitrogen (N) application timings. Measurements were made of a) direct nitrous oxide at a range of soil-climatic zones to generate country specific EFs from key sources (manufactured N fertilisers, manure applications and urine and dung), and b) indirect emissions associated with N deposition (ammonia emissions) and nitrate leaching (at the plot and field scale). This project was part of a wider research programme, “The Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Platform”, funded by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and the UK devolved administration governments. It seeks to improve the accuracy and resolution of the UK reporting system by providing new experimental evidence on the factors affecting emissions and statistics relevant to changing farming practices in the UK. It generated evidence for a UK specific method of calculating methane and nitrous oxide emissions that will reflect the adoption of mitigation practices by the industry, enabling the forecasting and monitoring of performance against target emissions reductions set by the UK Climate Change Act. The programme build upon previous research, combining field experimentation, modelling and scoping of data sources to fill knowledge gaps.