Nitrogen cycling in Latin America: Drivers, impacts and vulnerabilities

This policy brief describes a research project by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) and the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE) focused on nitrogen cycling in Latin America. The project aims to provide scientific evidence to support policies for sustainable nitrogen management in agriculture and wastewater treatment to prevent soil degradation, water pollution, and threats to food security.

• The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) predicts that climate change and soil degradation will cause a 10 percent global reduction in crop yields by 2050, potentially forcing the migration of between 50 and 700 million people, primarily in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central America, and South America.
• Excessive application of nitrogen fertilizers, when done without regard for environmental and agronomic knowledge, results in water pollution and soil degradation.
• In South America, only 20 per cent of wastewater is treated. Failure to increase the number and quality of wastewater treatment plants could lead to a tripling of coastal nitrogen levels by 2050.
• The IAI-supported nitrogen cycling network (Nnet), involving researchers from Venezuela, United States, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina, seeks to monitor nitrogen release into the atmosphere, its effect on soil erosion, and its impact on food security.
• The research project has developed tools including regional nitrogen emission maps, quantification of nitrogen fluxes, and impact models. It also conducted direct measurements of biological nitrogen fixation in ecosystems across Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, and Mexico.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (n.d.). Nitrogen cycling in Latin America: Drivers, impacts and vulnerabilities. https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/Policybrief_NitrogenBalance_CRN3005.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Nitrogen cycling in Latin America: Drivers, impacts and vulnerabilities. n.d. https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/Policybrief_NitrogenBalance_CRN3005.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Nitrogen cycling in Latin America: Drivers, impacts and vulnerabilities |url=https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/Policybrief_NitrogenBalance_CRN3005.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearchndnitrogen, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Nitrogen cycling in Latin America: Drivers, impacts and vulnerabilities}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, url = {https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/Policybrief_NitrogenBalance_CRN3005.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }