Estimated Nitrogen Discharge by a Mass Balance Approach

질소수지 분석을 통한 질소 배출량의 추정

This study was conducted to estimate nitrogen discharge from Korea (southern part of Korean peninsula) as NPS(non-point source) by mass balance approach; input and output analyses of nitrogen using existing data available. The material flow was sectored into three different activities; agricultural (raising crop and animals), human and natural activities in forest and urban areas. Atmospheric deposition, biological nitrogen fixation, inorganic fertilizers and manures applied, animal feed and imported foodstuffs such as crops, meat and fish were the inputs in this study, while ammonia volatilization, denitrification, human and animal waste generation, crop and meat production, and discharge into river to ocean were the outputs. The estimated total nitrogen input was $1,194.5{\times}10^3$ tons N/year and the river discharge was 408 to $422{\times}10^3$ tons N/year, of which 66 to 71% was from NPS. In detail, the estimated NPS discharges were respectively $8,274\;kg\;N/km^2$/year from agricultural area, $730\;kg\;N/km^2$/year from forest and $7,657\;kg\;N/km^2$/year from the other land areas such as urban and industrial area.