The Expert Panel on Nitrogen Budgets (EPNB) Berlin, September 28, 2012 Wilfried Winiwarter, Albert Bleeker (co-chairs)

Take-home messages “Guidance Document on National Nitrogen Budgets” has been adopted by WGSR and will be forwarded to EB-31 as an official document (to demonstrate and to report voluntarily under revised Gothenburg protocol). Your help needed: Guidance document defines nitrogen pools (and sub-pools) to be derived, according to specific guidance still to be written. Your help needed: Extending guidance also to farm-level budgets.

Nitrogen budgets “Reactive Nitrogen”, Nr, is being conserved and transferred through different environmental pools (“N cascade”). Considerable information is available from different sources on nitrogen concentrations in pools and nitrogen flows. Mass conservation considerations allow validation of system understanding in models.

Examples Germany Switzerland UK, France, Netherlands, Austria, … European Union Leip et al., 2011

Collaboration OECD “key environmental indicator” EUROSTAT –Gross Nutrient Balances –Fertilizer Statistics & Agro Environmental Indicators Memorandum of understanding between UN-ECE and Eurostat has been drafted

Pools

Work plan 2012/13 Complete core guidance document Continue cooperation with international bodies, explore further potentials Further support national N budget activities and harmonization of data collection Develop farm level budgets as a second main activity to EPNB Next EPNB meeting ???