Soil NO emissions, N leaching and marine eutrophication in life cycle assessment - A comparison of modelling approaches.

Nitrogen fertilisation is an essential part of modern agriculture, providing food for a growing human population, but also causing environmental impacts when reactive nitrogen (N) is released to the environment. The amount and impact of these emissions are difficult to quantify in life cycle assessment (LCA), due to their site-dependent nature. This study compared seven models for direct soil nitrous oxide (NO) emissions, seven models for N leaching and five characterisation models for marine eutrophication impact assessment, selected to represent medium-effort options for accounting for spatial variation in emissions and impact assessment.