Ammonia applied as fertilizer can volatilize into the atmosphere. This can threaten vulnerable ecosystems and human health. We investigated the partitioning of ammonia between an immobile adsorbed phase and mobile aqueous phase using several adsorption models. Using the Temkin model we determined that previous approaches to this issue may overestimate the quantity available for exchange by a factor of 5–20, suggesting that ammonia emissions from soil may be overestimated.