ERS Spotlight Partial Substitution of Nitrogen Fertilizer

The document highlights the use of soil activators and organic substitutes to reduce synthetic nitrogen fertilizer application by up to 20% without compromising crop yields, noting a specific project impact of 12,765 tCO2e in North America.

• Conventional synthetic nitrogen fertilizer use is inefficient, with 30-50% of applied fertilizer remaining unused by plants, leading to waterway pollution, soil degradation, and the release of nitrous oxide (N2O), which is 273 times more potent than CO2.
• The use of soil activator technologies, specifically SOURCE® and BLUEPRINT™ developed by Sound Agriculture, can reduce synthetic nitrogen application by up to 20% while maintaining or improving yields by stimulating the soil microbiome and promoting root symbiosis through arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF).
• A specific project involving selected farms in North America with 53,000 tonnes of annual nitrogen fertilizer applications has an estimated annual emissions reduction potential of 12,765 tCO2e. Additionally, one grower in Illinois replaced approximately 113 tonnes of nitrogen across 10,000 acres, avoiding an estimated 486 metric tons of CO2e.

APA

Climate TRACE (2025). ERS Spotlight Partial Substitution of Nitrogen Fertilizer. https://media.climatetrace.org/CT_Sound_Agriculture_Fertilizer_2_ff0d8e678f.pdf

Chicago

Climate TRACE. ERS Spotlight Partial Substitution of Nitrogen Fertilizer. 2025. https://media.climatetrace.org/CT_Sound_Agriculture_Fertilizer_2_ff0d8e678f.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate TRACE |title=ERS Spotlight Partial Substitution of Nitrogen Fertilizer |date=December 2025 |url=https://media.climatetrace.org/CT_Sound_Agriculture_Fertilizer_2_ff0d8e678f.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatetrace2025ers, author = {{Climate TRACE}}, title = {{ERS Spotlight Partial Substitution of Nitrogen Fertilizer}}, institution = {Climate TRACE}, year = {2025}, month = dec, url = {https://media.climatetrace.org/CT_Sound_Agriculture_Fertilizer_2_ff0d8e678f.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }