Work

How Could Fire Emissions Reshape the Nitrogen Cycle?

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Fire is a crucial process of the Earth's system and contributes to large emissions of carbon and nitrogen (N), including ammonia (NH 3 ) and nitrogen oxides (NO x ). Q. Chen et al. (2025, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL112396 ) reveals that extreme boreal fires emit unexpectedly high levels of NH 3 , comparable to large agricultural sources. The partitioning between NH 3 and NO x fire emissions varies across different ecosystem types, leading to divergent impacts on the N cycle. New advancements in Earth System Models and more specifically, a better representation of the N cycle would offer a powerful framework for enhancing our understanding of fire reactive nitrogen (N r ) emissions' impacts on atmospheric chemistry, ecosystems, and the global nitrogen cycle.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters

DOI: 10.1029/2025gl116250

Authors: M. Beaudor, A. Pouyaei, R. Wang

Institutions: Princeton University, High Meadows Environmental Institute

Language: English

Topic: Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols

Subfield: Atmospheric Science

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, Life on land

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,190