TNO, the University of Wageningen, the RIVM: the Liefstinghsbroek area committee has put a unique national team to work that will measure very specifically. “The word model does not appear in our research,” begins research leader Peter Laloli of TNO when he enters the stable of dairy farmer Gerben Koskamp.
“Aerius is a calculation model that shows what effect a nitrogen source has on a piece of nature. We don’t actually calculate, but to measure only. Gathering as much insight as possible. Measure the concentration and then see what happens in the area.”
“We measure in the stables, we measure just outside the stables, we measure in front of the nature reserve and in Liefstinghsbroek,” Laloli explains further.
Koskamp has his farm one and a half kilometers from Liefstinghsbroek. His dairy stable is full of sensors that not only measure ammonia (nitrogen) but also other things such as methane. “I would also like to know what we actually produce and emit. That is why I am participating,” says Koskamp.
There is also a measuring post 30 meters outside the stable. Laloli: “Here we can directly trace the nitrogen from the stable. But further on, at the edge of the forest, the emissions from this stable can no longer be traced because they are then included in the rest of the nitrogen blanket.”
What can you do with those local measurements? According to the research leader, you then know exactly what you are emitting from the source. And if there is a peak in emissions and there is also a peak in Liefstinghsbroek, that also says something.
Back in the forest, Chairman Pot explains that after the measurements, the committee will look at what measures are specifically needed for the species in Liefstinghsbroek that are struggling due to nitrogen.
Laloli gives a simplified example: “If you know that spreading your manure causes a nitrogen peak, only fertilize your field when the wind is blowing away from the forest. And if it turns out that through a number of holes at the edges of the forest nitrogen If the wind blows into Liefstinghsbroek, then you may need a natural buffer that captures nitrogen before the wind blows the nitrogen into the forest.”