Estimation for ammonia emissions at county level in China from 2013 to 2018.

Ammonia (NH₃) can interact with other trace chemicals in the atmosphere, significantly impacting atmospheric chemistry and global climate change. China is a largely agricultural country with high consumption of nitrogen fertilizer and large livestock herds, resulting in high NH₃ emissions. In this study, a comprehensive county-level inventory of Chinese NH₃ emissions from 2013 to 2018 was compiled. Based on previous research, an estimate of NH₃ emissions from household coal combustion was added to the inventory. The estimation of emissions from open biomass burning was improved by using a method based on fire radiative energy (FRE). The total NH₃ emissions in China increased from 2013 (9.64 Tg) to 2015 (9.75 Tg), and then decreased to 9.12 Tg in 2018. Emissions from fossil fuels reached a peak value in 2018, accounting for 8.4% of total emissions, while fertilizer application and livestock waste were responsible for fewer emissions than in previous years, accounting for 27.7% and 49.9% of the total from non-fossil fuel sources, respectively. The highest emission rates were in central and southwestern China. Seasonally, NH₃ emissions peaked in spring and summer. The inventory had a 1-km spatial resolution and a monthly temporal resolution, which confirmed its suitability for global and regional air quality simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]