Global assessment of nitrogen losses and trade-offs with yields from major crop cultivations

Agricultural application of reactive nitrogen (N) for fertilization is a cause of massive negative environmental problems on a global scale. However, spatially explicit and crop-specific information on global N losses into the environment and knowledge of trade-offs between N losses and crop yields...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Science of the total environment 2016-12, Vol.572, p.526-537
Main Authors: Liu, Wenfeng, Yang, Hong, Liu, Junguo, Azevedo, Ligia B., Wang, Xiuying, Xu, Zongxue, Abbaspour, Karim C., Schulin, Rainer
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Global assessment
Major crops
N losses
NLI
PEPIC
Trade-offs
Triticum aestivum
Zea mays
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Summary:Agricultural application of reactive nitrogen (N) for fertilization is a cause of massive negative environmental problems on a global scale. However, spatially explicit and crop-specific information on global N losses into the environment and knowledge of trade-offs between N losses and crop yields are largely lacking. We use a crop growth model, Python-based Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (PEPIC), to determine global N losses from three major food crops: maize, rice, and wheat. Simulated total N losses into the environment (including water and atmosphere) are 44TgNyr−1. Two thirds of these, or 29TgNyr−1, are losses to water alone. Rice accounts for the highest N losses, followed by wheat and maize. The N loss intensity (NLI), defined as N losses per unit of yield, is used to address trade-offs between N losses and crop yields. The NLI presents high variation among different countries, indicating diverse N losses to produce the same amount of yields. Simulations of mitigation scenarios indicate that redistributing global N inputs and improving N management could significantly abate N losses and at the same time even increase yields without any additional total N inputs. [Display omitted] •We simulate N losses of major cereal crops by using a global crop model.•N losses are focused on several main producers, where more attentions should be paid.•NLI is a useful indicator for assessing trade-offs between N losses and yields.•Mitigation scenarios show that N losses can be reduced without compromising yields.
ISSN:0048-9697
1879-1026
DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.08.093