A farm level ammonia emission model for inventory purposes in Flanders (Belgium)

To meet its European inventory duties, Flanders (Belgium) used until 2009 a straight forward model on regional scale which is based on the number of animals per animal category and on farmland use. Over the years, the Flemish legislation has changed considerably, making an update of this model necessary. Also, a farm and location based approach has become obligatory in view of IPPC regulations. Our new model uses the database of the Flemish Land Agency (VLM), which provides detailed information at farm level with about 47,000 annual manure returns, including manure collection points and processing firms. With this extra information it is possible to assess all manure flows in Flanders. This new model also considers more varied animal housing types, including obligatory emission low systems, and new information on external fertilizer storage. A link with GIS allows to present emission data at farm level, per km2 and per municipality.