Critical Load

Umwelt-Indikator

Indicator: Nitrogen eutrophication

A graph shows the proportion of vulnerable ecosystems in Germany where the critical loads for eutrophication were exceeded between 2000 and 2019 and the target for 2030. In 2000, the share was 84 % and in 2019, it was 69 %.

69 % of vulnerable ecosystems in Germany are threatened 2019 by excess nitrogen deposition.With the revised German Sustainable Development Strategy 2016, the Federal Government aims to reduce the proportion of these areas by 35 % until 2030. According to the current calculation basis, this results in a target value of 52 % by 2030.This target is feasible only if efforts to reduce air pollution are... read more

Agriculture

Nitrogen

A tractor spreading fertilizer on a field

In as much as nitrogen is an indispensable nutrient for all living things, the use of mineral and organic nitrogen fertilizers to increase crop yields is a common practice. It is essential that such fertilizer be used judiciously and on a needs oriented basis. Nitrogen surpluses can damage terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and can have harmful climatic, air quality, and biodiversity effects. read more

The Umweltbundesamt

For our environment