Consistent and comparable National Nitrogen Budgets: INFRAS has revised international guidelines and developed new templates. The revision was carried out on behalf of the German Environment Agency and in cooperation with the International Expert Panel on Nitrogen Budgets.
Nitrogen compounds are released during a variety of human activities, such as agriculture, transportation, industry and energy production. In Earth's biogeochemical cycle, nitrogen is transformed in various processes and has harmful effects on air, water and soil. In order to minimize these negative effects on humans and the environment, it is of great environmental importance to know the quantities of reactive nitrogen species and its transformation and transfer processes.
Key support for Nitrogen Budgets
The Expert Panel on Nitrogen Budgets (EPNB) addresses this issue. It was established in 2008 as part of the UNECE Task Force on Reactive Nitrogen. The EPNB supports the Task Force in providing expert information on reactive nitrogen compounds in the environment. This includes scientifically sound guidelines for the preparation of National Nitrogen Budgets, such as the Guidance Document on National Nitrogen Budget (NNB) and its annexes. The annexes describe the NNB model – a material flow analysis with eight pools and their sub-pools between which the relevant nitrogen flows occur – and provide guidance for the collection of nitrogen flow data.
INFRAS has revised these annexes on behalf of the German Environmental Agency and in cooperation with the EPNB. In addition, templates for the preparation of nitrogen budgets were developed. They provide the basis for consistent nitrogen budgets in different countries and support their efficient and standardized preparation.
Harmonization of annexes and revision of methodology
When revising the previous annexes, INFRAS incorporated extensive feedback from eexperts, clarified ambiguities in consultation with the previous authors, and filled gaps in the content. In addition, user-friendliness has been improved by harmonizing the annexes.
INFRAS has also comprehensively revised the methodological chapter and developed specific tools to facilitate countries' access to nitrogen budgets. These include an Excel template with visualizations and a template for presenting the NNBs using the STAN, a software for material flow analysis. These resources will help countries to prepare and present their nitrogen budgets in an efficient and standardized manner.
Increased commitment, including "call for data" as another goal
The revised annexes were submitted to the Working Group on Strategies and Review (WGSR) in May 2025. The WGSR is the central negotiating body of the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). In the future, a «Call for Data» is planned to invite country delegations to prepare or update National Nitrogen Budgets. This call will be accompanied by a «Summary for Policy Makers», which describes why it is important for environmental policy to understand the amounts of reactive nitrogen released by human activities and its transformation and transfer processes in the environment.
The methodological approach was also published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, making it scientifically validated.
Further information:
All relevant documents, including the revised annexes, the reporting templates and the summary for policymakers, are available on the EPNB's official website:
Further INFRAS articles on this topic:
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