While many gases contribute to the greenhouse effect, carbon dioxide and methane are the most abundant, accounting for over 90% of anthropogenic emissions. Along with human activity, these gases are both generated or consumed by natural chemical reactions in soil and water. As atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases rise, the Earth warms, thereby accelerating the melting of glaciers globally. 

Farms, lakes and rivers can emit nitrous oxide because nitrate leaches into water bodies from agriculture, said University of Florida scientist David Liu. Sudden, heavy rains can drench any tropical or subtropical region. Florida’s deluges can waterlog plants and soils. This can damage crops, especially vegetables, because the soil lacks sufficient oxygen. For example, a University of Florida, Institute of Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) report showed losses of about $77 million in the Florida vegetable industry due to Hurricane Irene in 1999.

If an area gets flooded by rain or someone irrigates too much, soil will run out of oxygen, which damages plants and soil microbes. That soil terrestrial life gets oxygen from nitrate, which is converted into a series of compounds – nitrous oxide among them. But applying oxygen fertilizers can minimize nitrous oxide emissions.

Liu, a UF/IFAS associate professor of horticultural sciences, believes he has laid the groundwork to lower nitrous oxide in agricultural soils. In an experiment on a research farm in Gainesville, Liu used fertilizer and water to successfully lower the chemical compound in the soil.

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