Ciclo del Nitrógeno en América Latina: Impulsores, Impactos y Vulnerabilidades

This executive summary describes a project led by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research to establish the Nitrogen Human Environment Network (Nnet). The project aims to map the nitrogen (N) cycle across Latin America, analyzing the impacts of human activities—such as fertilizer use, soy production, and mining—on ecosystem processes and biodiversity to provide guidelines for regional nitrogen management policies.

• In Mexico, measurements of ∂15-N abundance indicate that between 30% and 50% of nitrogen in native plants is biologically fixed. The standing vegetation in these areas contains 70-100 kg N /ha, with an annual turnover (litter fall) of 20-30 kg N /ha/yr.
• Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF) in Chilean forests is extremely low and is further suppressed by contaminants from copper mining that poison the nitrogen cycle. In laboratory studies regarding factors that limit BNF, molybdenum (Mo) was the only statistically significant result.
• Nitrogen deposition in Northern Argentina is approximately 8 kg N /ha/y. In São Paulo State, Brazil, air contaminant maps show high NOx concentrations driven by the city and industrial areas, while rural animal production sites contribute NH3.
• Analysis of Venezuelan river data from the IVIC repository reveals that some rivers are polluted with nitrogen concentrations 60 times higher than background levels seen in the Amazon and Orinoco.
• The project is analyzing the expansion of soy production in Bolivia to determine future impacts related to water contamination, soil degradation, and increased fertilizer use, including the crop's water footprint.

APA

Ometto, J. P. H., Forti, M. C., Pérez, C., Stein, A., Jaramillo, V. J., Perez, T., Austin, A., Ascarrunz, N., Pinho, P., Pérez, A. L. S., Bonilla, A., Salgado, B., Silva, C. M. D. S., Flores, C. G., Carnelos, D., Salazar, E., Neto, E. S., Ibarra, E. C., Pacheco, F. S., ... Diaz, S. (2024). Ciclo del Nitrógeno en América Latina: Impulsores, Impactos y Vulnerabilidades. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. https://iai.int/en/ciclo-del-nitrogeno-en-america-latina-impulsores-impactos-y-vulnerabilidades-crn-3005/

Chicago

Ometto, Jean Pierre H.B., Maria Cristina Forti, Cecilia Pérez, Ariel Stein, Víctor J. Jaramillo, Tibisay Perez, Amy Austin, et al. Ciclo del Nitrógeno en América Latina: Impulsores, Impactos y Vulnerabilidades. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, 2024. https://iai.int/en/ciclo-del-nitrogeno-en-america-latina-impulsores-impactos-y-vulnerabilidades-crn-3005/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ometto |first1=Jean Pierre H.B. |last2=Forti |first2=Maria Cristina |last3=Pérez |first3=Cecilia |last4=Stein |first4=Ariel |last5=Jaramillo |first5=Víctor J. |last6=Perez |first6=Tibisay |last7=Austin |first7=Amy |last8=Ascarrunz |first8=Nataly |last9=Pinho |first9=Patricia |display-authors=etal |title=Ciclo del Nitrógeno en América Latina: Impulsores, Impactos y Vulnerabilidades |publisher=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |date=22 September 2024 |url=https://iai.int/en/ciclo-del-nitrogeno-en-america-latina-impulsores-impactos-y-vulnerabilidades-crn-3005/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ometto2024ciclo, author = {Ometto, Jean Pierre H.B. and Forti, Maria Cristina and Pérez, Cecilia and Stein, Ariel and Jaramillo, Víctor J. and Perez, Tibisay and Austin, Amy and Ascarrunz, Nataly and Pinho, Patricia and Pérez, Ana Lidia Sandoval and Bonilla, Andre and Salgado, Beatriz and Silva, Cássia Monalisa dos Santos and Flores, Conrado Guzmán and Carnelos, Danilo and Salazar, Edixon and Neto, Eráclito Sousa and Ibarra, Estefany Chávez and Pacheco, Felipe Siqueira and Licona, Juan Carlos and Ribeiro, Kelly and Gómez, Laura Castañeda and Gomes, Luciene and Malfaia, Marcio and Almeida, Mariana and Muñoz, Natalia and Hernandez, Nohelis and Dulhoste, Raphael and Bazaes, Rodrigo Aguilera and Crispin, Stephane Palma and Diaz, Stephanie}, title = {{Ciclo del Nitrógeno en América Latina: Impulsores, Impactos y Vulnerabilidades}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://iai.int/en/ciclo-del-nitrogeno-en-america-latina-impulsores-impactos-y-vulnerabilidades-crn-3005/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }