Improved Global Nitrogen Management Benefit Crop Yields

Abstract

Improved management of nitrogen could provide environmental benefits. Crop yields can be affected by reactive nitrogen emissions (NH ₃ , NO _X , and N ₂ O) as they influence climate, ozone formation, and nitrogen deposition thus crop fertilization. Here we constructed a integrated framework to evaluate the benefits of improving agricultural nitrogen management for reducing reactive nitrogen emissions and their consequent impacts on crop yields through above‐mentioned pathways, with impacts monetized addressing dynamic food prices. Considering three levels of increasingly stringent nitrogen management scenarios from 2020 to 2050, we find that anthropogenic emissions of NH ₃ , NO _X , and N ₂ O could be reduced by 44.5%, 61.1%, and 35.2%, respectively, by 2050 relative to 2020. With the most effective nitrogen management strategies, crop yields during 2040–2050 are projected to increase by up to 22.5%, 13.1%, 22.9%, and 16.6% for maize, rice, soybeans, and wheat, respectively, corresponding to average economic gains of 10.2, 11.8, 11.8, and 7.4 billion dollars. These results indicate that enhanced nitrogen management can substantially increase crop production, providing a strong rationale for integrating nitrogen emission limits into policy frameworks.