Virginia No-Till Fact Sheet Series Number Five: Understanding Ammonia Volatilization from Fertilizers

Abstract

Loss of nitrogen (N) as ammonia gas (NH3) is known as volatilization. While volatilization directly from soil can occur, such loss is generally relatively small compared to the amount that can be lost from fertilizers. Volatilization losses can be significant with granular urea and urea-ammonium nitrate (UAN) sources, but the amount of loss varies greatly depending on placement of the fertilizer, soil pH, soil texture, and climatic conditions after application.