摘要
在工业化前的各类农业中,氮是最普通的作物产量限制性营养元素,但氨的Haber-Bosch合成法最终突破了这种限制。人类对氮肥不断增强的依赖性是对生物圈氮循环最大程度的干扰,其作用表现在两个方面:在富裕的国家,通常它有助于生产出过剩的食物,特别是动物性食物,并且增加农产品出口量;但是,在人口最稠密的国家,氮肥的使用使至少1/3的人的饮食介于营养失调和营养丰富之间。我们对人类氮(蛋白质)需求的理解经历了许多次修正,尽管仍有一些不确定之处,但是有一点是清楚的,在富有的国家,蛋白质的平均摄入量过多,而对于数亿的亚洲、非洲和拉丁美洲人来说,摄入量又不足。将需要更多的饮食蛋白质以消除这些差别。通过合理的耕作方式,以及通过更高效率的饲料转化和主要饮食结构的逐渐改变,未来全球性氮肥使用量可以减少。最终,在不输入大量氮的情况下,使日益增长的世界人口获得丰富的营养物质将成为可能。
Nitrogen was the most commonly yield-limiting nutrient in all pre-industrial agricultures. Only the Haber-Bosch synthesis of ammonia broke this barrier. The rising dependence on nitrogenous fertilizers, which represents the largest human interference in the biospheric N cycle, has two different roles. In affluent nations it helps to produce excess of food in general, and of animal foods in particular, and it boosts agricultural exports. But for at least a third of humanity in the world's most populous countries the use of N fertilizers makes the difference between malnutrition and adequate diet. Our understanding of human N (protein) needs has undergone many revisions and although some uncertainties still remain it is clear that average protein intakes are excessive in rich countries and inadequate for hundreds of millions of people in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. More dietary protein will be needed to eliminate these disparities but the future global use of N fertilizers can be moderated not just by better agronomic practices but also by higher feeding efficiencies and by gradual changes of prevailing diets. As a result, it could be possible to supply adequate nutrition to the world's growing population without any massive increases of N inputs.
