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Cost-effective mitigation of nitrogen pollution from global croplands

Agriculture

Cost-effective mitigation of nitrogen pollution from global croplands

B. Gu, X. Zhang, et al.

This groundbreaking research by Baojing Gu and colleagues reveals that innovative measures can reduce nitrogen losses from cropland by 30–70% while boosting crop yields and efficiency. With an estimated societal benefit of 476 billion USD, this study proposes a nitrogen credit system to encourage these vital practices, showcasing the potential for significant environmental and economic impact.

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Playback language: English
Abstract
Cropland is a major source of global nitrogen pollution. This paper synthesizes 1,521 field observations to identify 11 key measures to reduce nitrogen losses by 30–70%, increase crop yield and nitrogen use efficiency, and generate a global societal benefit of 476 ± 123 billion USD, with net mitigation costs of only 19 ± 5 billion USD. A nitrogen credit system is proposed to incentivize the adoption of these measures.
Publisher
Nature
Published On
Jan 05, 2023
Authors
Baojing Gu, Xiuming Zhang, Shu Kee Lam, Yingliang Yu, Hans J. M. van Grinsven, Shaohui Zhang, Xiaoxi Wang, Benjamin Leon Bodirsky, Sitong Wang, Jiakun Duan, Chenchen Ren, Lex Bouwman, Wim de Vries, Jianming Xu, Mark A. Sutton, Deli Chen
Tags
nitrogen pollution
cropland
crop yield
nitrogen use efficiency
societal benefit
mitigation costs
nitrogen credit system
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