A gap in nitrous oxide emission reporting complicates long-term climate mitigation.

Abstract

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is an important greenhouse gas (GHG) that also contributes to depletion of ozone in the stratosphere. Agricultural soils account for about 60% of anthropogenic N₂O emissions. Most national GHG reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change assumes nitrogen (N) additions drive emissions during the growing season, but soil freezing and thawing during spring is also an important driver in cold climates. We show that both atmospheric inversions and newly implemented bottom-up modeling approaches exhibit large N₂O pulses in the northcentral region of the United States during early spring and this increases annual N₂O emissions from croplands and grasslands reported in the national GHG inventory by 6 to 16%. Considering this, emission accounting in cold climate regions is very likely underestimated in most national reporting frameworks. Current commitments related to the Paris Agreement and COP26 emphasize reductions of carbon compounds. Assuming these targets are met, the importance of accurately accounting and mitigating N₂O increases once CO₂ and CH₄ are phased out. Hence, the N₂O emission underestimate introduces additional risks into meeting long-term climate goals.