Ammonia and nitrogen pollution, mostly from agriculture, is harming more than 60% of the UK's land area and affecting the most sensitive habitats, according to a DEFRA report.
The trends report, published this week, finds that “there have only been small reductions in ammonia concentrations” between the periods 2009-11 and 2013-15.
The UK land area with ammonia concentrations above 1 microgram per cubic metre (µg/m3) - the critical level set to protect lichens, mosses, liverworts and similar plants – slightly decreased, from 63.9% in 2009-11 to 61.3% in 2013-15.
However, more than 85% of England’s total land area exceeds this level, while in Northern Ireland 88% of land breaches the limit. Just over half the land in Wales is affected and less than a fifth of Scotland.
Sensitive sites in England and Northern Ireland, including special areas of conservation, special protected areas, and sites of special scientific interest, are also badly affected, with 84% to 92% of these sites registering ammonia concentration levels above 1 µg/m3. In Wales 50-72% of these sites are affected and 18- 24% of sites in Scotland.
The UK’s ammonia emissions are dominated by agriculture and are on the rise, hitting 289,000 tonnes in 2016, up from a low of 262,000t in 2008. A total of 218,000t was associated with livestock, the rest mostly from the application of inorganic fertilisers.
Aside from directly damaging the environment through nitrogen deposition, ammonia can also react with acidic pollutants such as sulphuric, nitric and hydrochloric acids to form ammonium salts, which exacerbate particulate pollution.
Nitrogen levels have also only reduced marginally, with 78-98% of designated sites in England, Wales and Northern Ireland exceeding critical load levels in 2014-16, according to DEFRA’s latest report. Only Scotland had lower levels, with 40% of sites breaching the load in the same period.
The report reveals a better picture on acidity, with the area of acid-sensitive habitats in the UK exceeding critical loads having fallen by more than one third, from 73% in 1995-97 to 43% in 2014-16.
Last year, the government set a target to cut agricultural emissions by 8% from 2020 and by 16% a decade later. It also provided £3m of funding to advise farmers on how to meet the target.
DEFRA’s clean air strategy, published in January, was praised by environmental groups for confirming these commitments.
A DEFRA spokesperson said that the government had already published guidance on how farmers can take action on ammonia and would consult later this year on a policy to reduce emissions from urea fertilisers - the first in a series of rules to reduce ammonia emissions from farming.
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