Reading This Report

This report is written for students of environmental issues, farmers, agricultural professionals, decision-makers, and others who want to understand the links between agriculture and air quality. The reader does not need a scientific background to read the report, though a rudimentary knowledge of chemical notation will be helpful. For example, we refer to various compounds containing nitrogen (N), carbon (C), oxygen (O), and hydrogen (H), elements that are the main constituents of greenhouse gases and organic matter. For the inquisitive reader, we have listed some important compounds in the box on this page.

The information presented is gleaned from numerous sources, both Canadian and international. To allow for easier reading, we have not quoted individual sources but have provided a general bibliography at the end. More detailed information as well as some of the original sources may be found there.

Principal Atmospheric Constituents