Why future nitrogen research needs the social sciences
David Kanter, Stephen J. Del Grosso, Clemens Scheer, David E. Pelster, James N. Galloway
Abstract
Nitrogen management is on the cusp of becoming a major global policy issue — the international community is gradually acknowledging that the feasibility of an array of environmental, health and food security goals hinges on how humanity manages nitrogen as a resource and a pollutant over the coming decades. As a result, the nitrogen research agenda should expand to consider more policy-relevant questions, such as the power dynamics of the broader food system and the many influences on farmer decision-making. Doing so demands much closer collaboration between the natural and social sciences, from problem formulation to research execution, which requires overcoming a range of ideological, institutional and knowledge barriers.