Emissions to air by agriculture and horticulture in the Netherlands, 1990-2002*

Agriculture and horticulture are major contributors to total emissions of ammonia, methane, nitrous oxide and particulate matter. Emissions of the first two in particular have fallen considerably since 1990.

	1990	1995	1999	2000	2001	2002*
	million kg
Sulphur dioxide (SO2) 1)	0.96	0.60	0.28	0.28	0.34	0.34
Furnaces	0.96	0.60	0.28	0.28	0.34	0.34
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) 1)	9.8	13	12	12	12	12
Furnaces	9.8	13	12	12	12	12
Carbon monoxide (CO) 1)	1.5	1.4	1.3	1.3	1.2	1.2
Furnaces	1.5	1.4	1.3	1.3	1.2	1.2
Carbon dioxide (CO2) 1)2)	8 427	8 063	7 085	7 104	6 892	6 832
Furnaces	8 427	8 063	7 085	7 104	6 892	6 832
Particulate matter	8.8	9.5	10	9.8	9.4	9.3
Furnaces	0.20	0.15	0.08	0.08	0.09	0.09
Other	8.6	9.4	9.9	9.7	9.2	9.2
VOC 3)	2.0	1.9	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.6
Furnaces	1.8	1.7	1.5	1.5	1.4	1.4
Other	0.24	0.23	0.23	0.23	0.23	0.16
Methane (CH4)	508	480	427	413	412	391
Furnaces	2.6	2.5	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.2
Other	505	477	425	411	410	389
Nitrous oxide (N2O)	22	27	25	23	23	22
Furnaces	0.02	0.02	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01
Other	22	27	25	23	23	22
Ammonia (NH3) 4)	220	179	153	139	129	123
Other	220	179	153	139	129	123
Source: CCDM (2003).		CBS/EDC/Aug03/0099
1) Other emissions nil. 2) Other emissions not measured. 3) Volatile organic compounds, excluding methane. 4) Emissions from furnaces nil. N.B. Excluding emissions from mobile machinery. These are included under traffic and transport.

Ammonia, methane and nitrous oxide are the main agricultural emissions.

Agriculture and horticulture are major contributors to Dutch emissions of ammonia, methane and nitrous oxide. Ammonia makes a significant contribution to acidification and eutrophication. Methane and nitrous oxide are both greenhouse gases. Emissions of ammonia and methane in particular have fallen considerably since 1990.

Causes of emissions to air

The emissions are caused by the combustion of fuels by stationary sources (the contribution is only a small proportion of the national total) or by other processes. The following processes specific to agriculture and horticulture play a role here:

• emissions resulting from the use of chemical fertilisers (NH₃ and N₂O);
• emissions from manure (NH₃, N₂O and CH₄);
• emissions by nitrogen fixing by papilionaceous plants (N₂O);
• emissions from the nitrogen stocks in agricultural land (N₂O)
• emissions from animal accommodation (NH₃ and particulate matter).

The emissions from agricultural vehicles are included under emissions from Traffic and transport.

References

• CCDM (2003). Emissiemonitor. Jaarcijfers 2001 en ramingen 2002. Datawarehouse-Emissieregistratie. Coördinatiecommissie Doelgroepmonitoring, The Hague. You can find descriptions of the calculation method in the meta-information of the Emissiemonitor on the Emissieregistratie website.

Relevant sections and indicators in the Environmental Data Compendium

• Emissions to air by target sector, 2002*
• Emissions to air by Traffic and transport in the Netherlands, 2002*
• Greenhouse gas emissions by Agriculture and horticulture in the Netherlands, 1980-2002
• Ammonia emissions by Agriculture and horticulture in the Netherlands, 1980-2002
• Ammonia emissions in the Netherlands from manure and fertiliser, 1980 and 2000
• Guide to Environmental theme of Climate change (greenhouse effect)
• Guide to Environmental theme of Acidification and transboundary air pollution
• Guide to 'Measures for agriculture and horticulture, and eutrophication' section

Relevant information outside of the Environmental Data Compendium

• Recent emission data and descriptions of the calculation methods used (meta-information) can be viewed in detail on the Data Warehouse of the 'Emissieregistratie'.
• Emission data can also be found on Statline of Statistics Netherlands.