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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Soil Management and Sugarbeet Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #370848
Research Project: Management Practices for Long Term Productivity of Great Plains Agriculture

Location: Soil Management and Sugarbeet Research

Title: Why future nitrogen research needs the social sciences

Author
item KANTER, DAVID - New York University
item Del Grosso, Stephen - Steve
item SCHEER, CLEMENS - Karlsruhe Institute Of Technology
item PELSTER, DAVID - Agriculture And Agri-Food Canada
item GALLOWAY, JAMES - University Of Virginia

Submitted to: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/15/2020
Publication Date: 9/12/2020
Citation: Kanter, D., Del Grosso, S.J., Scheer, C., Pelster, D., Galloway, J. 2020. Why future nitrogen research needs the social sciences. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 47:54-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2020.07.002.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2020.07.002

Interpretive Summary: Nitrogen management is on the cusp of becoming a major global policy issue – the international community is gradually acknowledging that the feasibility of an array of environmental, health and food security goals hinges on how humanity manages nitrogen as a resource and a pollutant over the coming decades. As a result, the nitrogen research agenda should expand to consider more policy-relevant questions, such as the power dynamics of the broader food system and the myriad influences on farmer decision-making. Doing so requires much closer collaboration between the natural and social sciences, from problem formulation to research execution. The nitrogen research community should learn from similar research and assessments efforts to ensure that future nitrogen science contributes to sound policymaking on this increasingly urgent issue.

Technical Abstract: Nitrogen management is on the cusp of becoming a major global policy issue – the international community is gradually acknowledging that the feasibility of an array of environmental, health and food security goals hinges on how humanity manages nitrogen as a resource and a pollutant over the coming decades. As a result, the nitrogen research agenda should expand to consider more policy-relevant questions, such as the power dynamics of the broader food system and the myriad influences on farmer decision-making. Doing so requires much closer collaboration between the natural and social sciences, from problem formulation to research execution. The nitrogen research community should learn from similar research and assessments efforts to ensure that future nitrogen science contributes to sound policymaking on this increasingly urgent issue.