What are the relative contributions of different sectors to N cycling in California? What are the relative amounts of different forms of reactive nitrogen in air and water?
Are measurements of gaseous losses and water contamination accurate? Do they capture the “hot spots” and “hot moments”?
Management Practices
What are the current N rate recommendations? Are current nitrogen application recommendations adequate for present-day cropping conditions?
How is nitrogen use efficiency determined and what are the most efficient and inefficient production systems?
Are there current management practices that would increase N use efficiency? What are the “BMP”s for reducing N pollution and increasing efficiency?
Are there tradeoffs between reduced N application and other cropping considerations? Will deviating from current N applications (e.g., form, rate, timing) affect product quality, increase pest pressure, etc?
From a systems perspective, where are the control points for better management of N?
Policy
To what extent would policies designed to reflect the public health and environmental costs of nitrogen pollution affect food prices and farm revenues?
How can policies account for the trade-offs between costs and benefits of N use?
How might policy be used more effectively to both monitor and address non-point source ag pollution?
What are the hurdles to having a coordinated and cohesive N policy across regulatory jurisdictions?
Health
What is the state of knowledge on how nitrogen influences air and water quality and impacts human health?
Communications
How do we communicate the complexity of the nitrogen cycle and nitrogen-related problems to the public?
What N outreach tools can be created to aid decision making at the field and policy level and educate the public?
