Global Fertilizer and Manure, Version 1
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Description of the Data
Agriculture is one of the major drivers of global environmental change. In addition to the conversion of millions of hectares of natural ecosystems, millions of tons of fertilizer and manure are applied each year to maintain crop production levels. Understanding the current level and spatial patterns of fertilizer and manure inputs would greatly improve the ability to identify areas that might be sensitive to aquatic eutrophication and habitat destruction, species extinction, and/or nutrient depletion.
The Global Fertilizer and Manure, Version 1 data represent fertilizer application rates and manure production of Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorous (P). Spatially explicit fertilizer inputs were computed by fusing national-level statistics on fertilizer use with global maps of harvested area for 175 crops. Manure production was based on livestock head count and nutrient content of manure. The data were compiled by Philip Potter and Navin Ramankutty, et. al. (2010). This website provides access to the spatial data sets described by Philip Potter and Navin Ramankutty, and others in the journal Earth Interactions, as well as maps depicting the data. Users may download the data as one global grid or as a grid for each of the six populated continents. The data are available in raster GeoTiff and GRID formats and distributed by the Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN).
Click on the maps to see larger versions with full legends.
Figure 1. Global Nitrogen (N) fertilizer application rates around 2000
Figure 2. Global Phosphorous (P) manure production rates in 2000
Methods
A detailed description of the methods utilized to produce the data, as well as research results, are described in Philip Potter and Navin Ramankutty, et. al. (2010) (journal article, download PDF). Areas of fertilizer application and manure production were identified and mapped using two different multi-stage processes. Where necessary, data were standardized to ensure consistent global coverage.
Fertilizer Application rates were computed by fusing national level fertilizer data and global maps of 175 crops. Data on fertilizer application rates for two major fertilizers, nitrogen and phosphorus, for 88 countries were utilized from "Fertilizer Use by Crop, 2002", a report for the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA). These data accounted for over 90% of global fertilizer consumption. Years for which the data were reported range from 1994 to 2001. Additional data on fertilizer application were gathered from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) to encompass the 161 countries considered in the analysis. Crop data for global mapping were gathered from the "M3-crop" database. To maintain consistency, the multi-stage process included scaling fertilizer application rates based on the ratio between the areas reported in the IFA database with the area calculated using the M3-crop data. This method calculates the total amount of nutrients in the fertilizer applied directly to the land.
Manure Production rates are based on livestock head count and nutrient content of manure. Standardized global data of livestock distribution were gathered from the FAO Gridded Livestock of the World (GLW) project. Additional data were gathered regarding the nutrient content, specifically nitrogen, phosphorus, and excrement rate for various livestock from each Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country. Different livestock datasets were converted into equable "livestock units" depending on the inputs necessary for livestock in each region, then excrement nutrient content of the manure was calculated uniformly across the globe. The data values represent the amount of nutrients produced, not the recoverable fraction or the amount collected and returned to the fields.
Download Data
Spatial data are provided in raster GeoTiff and ESRI Grid formats. Raster grid cell sizes are 0.5 degrees latitude x longitude. To download the zip files with accompanying metadata and documentation, click on the links below. The downloaded compressed zipfiles contain raster data, metadata record and readme file.
Nitrogen Fertilizer |
Nitrogen in Manure |
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GeoTiff |
Grids |
GeoTiff |
Grids |
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| Global | Download | Download | Download | Download |
| Africa | Download | Download | Download | Download |
| Asia | Download | Download | Download | Download |
| Europe | Download | Download | Download | Download |
| North America | Download | Download | Download | Download |
| Oceania | Download | Download | Download | Download |
| South America | Download | Download | Download | Download |
Phosphorous Fertilizer |
Phosphorous in Manure |
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GeoTiff |
Grids |
GeoTiff |
Grids |
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| Global | Download | Download | Download | Download |
| Africa | Download | Download | Download | Download |
| Asia | Download | Download | Download | Download |
| Europe | Download | Download | Download | Download |
| North America | Download | Download | Download | Download |
| Oceania | Download | Download | Download | Download |
| South America | Download | Download | Download | Download |
Data Set Pages
- Global Fertilizer and Manure, Version 1: Nitrogen in Manure Production
- Global Fertilizer and Manure, Version 1: Phosphorus in Manure Production
- Global Fertilizer and Manure, Version 1: Phosphorus Fertilizer Application
- Global Fertilizer and Manure, Version 1: Nitrogen Fertilizer Application
Citation and Acknowledgements
The original work on these data was published in:
Potter, P., N. Ramankutty, E. M. Bennett and S. D. Donner. 2010. Characterizing the Spatial Patterns of Global Fertilizer Application and Manure Production. Earth Interactions 14(002):1-22.
SEDAC would like to acknowledge Drs. Potter, Ramankutty, Bennett, and Donner for providing these data for distribution.
Should you download and use these data, please ensure that any results are accompanied by the following data citation(s):
Potter, P., N. Ramankutty, E. M. Bennett and S. D. Donner. (2011). Global Fertilizer and Manure, Version 1: Nitrogen Fertilizer Application. Data distributed by the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC): http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/collection/ferman-v1. [Date downloaded].
Potter, P., N. Ramankutty, E. M. Bennett and S. D. Donner. (2011). Global Fertilizer and Manure, Version 1: Phosphorus Fertilizer Application. Data distributed by the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC): http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/collection/ferman-v1. [Date downloaded].
Potter, P., N. Ramankutty, E. M. Bennett and S. D. Donner. (2011). Global Fertilizer and Manure, Version 1: Nitrogen in Manure Production. Data distributed by the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC): http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/collection/ferman-v1. [Date downloaded].
Potter, P., N. Ramankutty, E. M. Bennett and S. D. Donner. (2011). Global Fertilizer and Manure, Version 1: Phosphorus in Manure Production. Data distributed by the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC): http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/collection/ferman-v1. [Date downloaded].
