Emerging national research needs for agricultural air quality

Over the next 50 years, the Earth's human population is predicted to increase from the current 6.1 billion to more than 9 billion, creating a parallel increase in demand for agricultural commodities. Satisfying the demand for food is already driving changes in crop and livestock production methods that may have profound environmental effects. Increased consumption of animal protein in developed and developing countries, for example, has resulted in concentrated production of poultry and livestock, which has led to concentrated emissions of pollutants from these production facilities and has created regulatory concerns for agriculture. Development of land for nonagricultural uses has placed more pressure on marginal agricultural lands and has caused environmental degradation including the emission of trace gases (e.g., carbon,sulfur, and nitrogen species) into the atmosphere.