Ammonia emissions from agriculture—changing perception and research priorities in time: Case study in Switzerland

Ammonia (NH3) emissions from agriculture have been studied in Switzerland since the beginning of the nineties. In the beginning, work focused on measurements of emissions at manure spreading and from animal housing. Later it shifted to experiments on the influence of dairy rations on emissions. In recent years it mainly focused on an improved emission inventory methodology and on the assessment of the abatement potential. This development also reflects the changing perception on the question of NH3 emissions. In the eighties fears dominated that additional restrictions imposed on farmers to reduce NH3 emissions might make manure management nearly impossible. Since severe restrictions on the nitrogen balance have been introduced, the interest of farmers to reduce nitrogen losses has increased considerably and with it farmers' awareness of NH3 emissions. This contribution gives an overview of this development and of the main research work.