Researchers at Australia’s Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have found a much more accurate means of measuring agricultural emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) that’s a significant contributor to total GHG emissions. Based on “groundbreaking data” on N2O emissions from a QUT colleague, QUT Institute for Future Environments Smart Futures Fellow Professor Richard Conant’s new statistical approach improves global N2O emissions estimates by as much as 65%, according to a PhysOrg article.

It’s estimated that agriculture is responsible for some 20% of global GHG emissions, primarily due to methane emissions associated with livestock. Though less than carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, N20 emissions are a big part of that, primarily the result of N2O emissions from fertilizers.

Three-quarters of estimated global agricultural N20 emissions came from fertilizer, according to Conant, who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore as a member of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

“We’re providing a tool that has significantly improved the accuracy of measuring N2O,” Conant was quotes as saying. “Our hope is that this information will enable developing countries that lack detailed measurements to keep better track of N2O emissions.”

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