As part of recent workshops related to the impacts of nitrogen in the environment we have been discussing the possibilities for us personally to take action in reducing these impacts.

Food is a recurring theme, and based on this, the attached declaration was drafted.  We plan to publicly launch it this week, associated with the Task Force on Reactive Nitrogen meeting in the Netherlands, which is currently in the process of establishing an Expert Panel on Nitrogen and Food.

Please read the declaration: You can also find it as attachment below (pdf format)

Your comments are welcome, plus let us know if you agree to sign it (which can also be done at Barsac-text).

In the last year five workshops in the context of the European Nitrogen Assessment were organised. The European Nitrogen Assessment (or in short ENA) will be the major outcome of the NinE programme. Information about the structure of the ENA can be found here, while an outline of the ENA can be found here.

You are invited to get involved in the ENA process. As a start, please register to this site. During the login procedure, check the ENA-group option. You will then get access to a restricted ENA area on this site. More information about the future workshops will also become available via that area.

At the COP15 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Copenhagen 7-18 December) a Nitrogen Side Event will be organised, hosted at The Bella Center. The event has the title: "Options for including nitrogen mangement in Climate Policy Development" and will take place at the U.S. Center (Hall C5) on December 7 (18.00 - 19.00). 

From 9 to 11 September the 5th ENA Workshop will be organised in Brussels. More information about this meeting will become available via the ENA pages.

The 16th Nitrogen Workshop
Connecting different scales of nitrogen use in agriculture

will be held in Turin, Italy, from June 28th to July 1st, 2009.

The Workshop is jointly organised by the Department of Crop Science of the University of Milan and by the Department of Agronomy, Forest and Land Management of the University of Turin.

For more details, please look at the workshop website: http://www.nitrogenworkshop2009.org.

Workshop on Comparison of static chambers to measure N2O, CH4 and CO2 fluxes from soils in Copenhagen 15th - 17th December 2008.

The workshop is a continuation of a static chamber calibration campaign held in Hyytiälä August - October 2008, Finland. In the workshop results from the calibration campaign will be presented and central topics within the scope of measurements of gas fluxes with static chambers will be adressed through presentation by three invited speakers all working with chamber measurements and also through group work sessions.

The workshop aims at producing ideas and solutions to:

You are all invited to apply for a NinE travel grant. These travel grants are possible for Short Visits (up to 15 days) and Exchange Visits (up to 6 months).  

The purpose of Travel Grants offered by NinE is to encourage networking between scientists with a focus on developing an integrated quantification of nitrogen fluxes in Europe. To be considered suitable for funding, applications should match one or more of the Programme’s objectives. 

International scientific conference THE EUROPEAN FOREST-BASED SECTOR : BIO-RESPONSES TO ADDRESS NEW CLIMATE AND ENERGY CHALLENGES?

FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT - Further details will be sent in January 2008

Why? During its presidency of the European Union (second semester 2008), France wishes to contribute to the debate on the roles of forests and their products in a post-2012 climate regime.

What? The roles of the forest-based sector and perspectives for the future will be discussed under three main headings:

1. forests as carbon sinks,
2. wood-based bioproducts as carbon pools and substitutes to materials with a high energy footprint,
3. wood-based sector as a source of bioenergy. How? Invited keynote speakers in plenary sessions, voluntary contributions in parallel sessions or poster sessions.

Where? Nancy (Palais des congrès), city in the East of France (1 1/2 hour from Paris by TGV - High Speed Train)

Bridging the Scales in Atmospheric Chemistry: Local to Global

September 7-12 2008
Annecy, France

All information will be available on the conference web site: http://www.igacfrance2008.fr/

Different relevant sessions at the EGU General Assembly in Vienna - like, e.g.: 

AS3.18: Organic nitrogen compounds: implications for aerosol chemistry and the nitrogen cycle

Convener: Ivonne Trebs, MPI Mainz

Co-Convener: Olga L. Mayol-Bracero, ITES

For more information, please see this PDF.

Other relevant sessions can be found at the conference website at http://meetings.copernicus.org/egu2008/,