The nitrogen surplus will have decreased in 2021 compared to the previous year. However, 290 million kilograms of nitrogen still disappeared unused in the soil or the air. The nitrogen surplus has been declining for years and has not been this small since 2014.
In comparison with 2020 the nitrogen surplus has shrunk by 5 percent, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands on Monday. This decrease is in line with the trend of recent years. Since 2016, the nitrogen surplus has decreased by 12.5 percent.
Of the nitrogen surplus that existed in 2021, 87 million kilograms disappeared into the air. 203 million kilos ended up in the soil.
The nitrogen surplus is the supplied amount of nitrogen less the nitrogen that is fixed in animals or plants. Farmers supply nitrogen by, for example, giving concentrates to cattle or spreading fertilizer.
Examples of products in which nitrogen has been fixed are eggs, milk or meat. A plant also fixes nitrogen and with the harvest that nitrogen disappears from the land.
Nettles and grass grow fast due to nitrogen
With an excess of nitrogen, certain plants grow very fast. Think of nettles or grasses. Other species that need less nutrient-rich soil are therefore under pressure.
Because plant species are declining sharply in number or even disappearing completely, animals that live on or around those plants also have a hard time. For example, an excess of nitrogen causes a deterioration of biodiversity.
The fact that the nitrogen surplus fell again in 2021 was mainly due to a decrease in nitrogen in manure. Due to different weather conditions than in the period from 2017 to 2020, there was less nitrogen in the grass and maize that were fed to cows.
Also, less nitrogen was emitted by pigs and chickens. This was mainly because fewer animals were kept in 2021.
Nature is having a hard time due to too much nitrogen
Because millions of kilograms of nitrogen have accumulated in the soil for decades, vulnerable nature has a hard time.
The cabinet believes that this must change in the coming years. By buying out companies that emit a lot of nitrogen, the cabinet hopes that the excess of nitrogen will decrease further and that nature can recover.