CEIGRAM presents the MIREN-4R project to mitigate the impact of reactive nitrogen on Mediterranean crops

The final resolution proposal for the MIREN-4R project (“Mitigation of reactive nitrogen through the 4R approach in Mediterranean crops”) has recently been published. an initiative of the 2024-2027 State Plan for Scientific, Technical, and Innovation Research, aimed at reducing nitrogen losses in Mediterranean agricultural systems and moving toward more sustainable fertilizer management.

The project, led by Sonia García Marco and Guillermo Guardia, is part of the 2024 Knowledge Generation Projects call for proposals by the State Research Agency, and will be developed by the Group on Contamination of Agrosystems by Agricultural Practices (COAPA), attached to the Department of Food Chemistry and Technology of the ETSIAAB-UPM and CEIGRAM.

Mitigation of reactive nitrogen: a key environmental challenge

Reactive nitrogen derived from the use of agricultural fertilizers is one of the main factors contributing to soil, water, and atmospheric pollution. MIREN-4R will address this problem by applying the 4R approach (“Right source, Right rate, Right time, Right place”), which promotes the use of the right fertilizer, in the right dose, at the right time and place, to optimize nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and minimize its environmental impact.

Objectives and methodology

The project will be carried out over four years y a través de ensayos de campo e invernadero y mediante tecnologías avanzadas (cámaras automáticas para análisis de emisiones con alta frecuencia, análisis isotópico con ¹⁵N, gas chromatography, study of microbial communities). The research team will analyze the main pathways of nitrogen loss (NH3,N2, N2O, NOx, N leaching) in representative horticultural crops and evaluate options for reducing N2O emissions and other pathways of reactive N loss) and increase N use efficiency in irrigated and rainfed Mediterranean crops through the use of organic fertilization, improved efficiency synthetic fertilizers, variable fertilization based on yield maps, and the interaction between crop residues (some of which have natural inhibition capacity) and fertilization.

Funding

The MIREN-4R project (ref. PID2024-157885OB-I00) is co-funded by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI), part of the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).