IS THERE A NITROGEN DEFICIT IN ROMANIAN AGRICULTURE?

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) is a key nutrient in agriculture production. While most of the European countries have a highly positive N gross balance (Leip et al., 2011; EUROSTAT, 2017), Romania had a negative gross N balance in the year 2013. A positive N balance indicates the risk of pollution by nitrate (N03-), ammonia (NH4+) and nitrous oxide (N20). In contrast, a negative N balance might show the risk of soil depletion. We estimated an N soil surface balance and assessed the potential uncertainties in the data as well as the relation between N inputs and N outputs. The Romanian agriculture has a high N use efficiency of 0.99. Over the last 20 years we observed a slightly positive N soil surface balance of 0.1 kg per ha. The average N inputs accounted for around 40 kg N per ha. The fluctuation of the N soil surface balance between the years is high and mainly caused by the high fluctuation of N outputs, as due to weather fluctuations and plant pest, the yield does not achieve its’ potential yield. However, the method of soil surface balance has some drawbacks, as farm internal fluxes are separated. Therefore, the calculation of an N farm gate balance would add some benefits as it is regarded as more precise due to the consideration of animal production.