BY MAN LI, ZHE GUO AND WEI ZHANG
Excess nitrogen produced by agricultural activities, mainly from manure and chemical fertilizers, is a primary source of nutrient pollution and presents serious environmental threats to natural ecosystems and human health. Particularly when it reaches bodies of water, excess nitrogen can lead to dead zones, hypoxia, fish kills and algal blooms that threaten biodiversity, and can contaminate drinking water to create unsafe conditions for humans.
