Global Nitrogen Fertilizer Application on Croplands, 1994-2001

1994 to 2001 national-level nitrogen fertilizer application rates for crops, sourced from the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) database. The data were spatially disaggregated by fusing national statistics with global harvested area maps for 175 crops. It was compiled by Potter et al. (2010) and distributed by Columbia University's CIESIN.

Use Cases

• Modeling environmental nitrogen runoff based on national fertilizer application rates.
• Analyzing spatial patterns of agricultural input intensity based on fused statistics and harvested area maps.
• Studying temporal trends in crop-specific fertilizer use from 1994 to 2001.
• Calibrating earth system models with spatially explicit nitrogen input data.

Strengths

• Covers a specific 8-year time range from 1994 to 2001.
• Includes data for up to 175 different crops at the global scale.
• Spatially explicit data created by fusing national statistics with harvested area maps.

Limitations

• Data is over 20 years old; freshness and current applicability are limited.
• Row and column counts are unknown, limiting suitability assessment.
• The source IFA database is described as available by request, suggesting potential access barriers.

Provenance

Source

International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) database, processed by Potter et al. (2010) and distributed by Columbia University CIESIN.

Collection Method

National statistics fused with global maps of harvested area.

Time Range

1994-2001

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; data compilation referenced is from 2010.

Geography

Global, national-level