Managing nitrogen for sustainable development

Xin, Zhang; Davidson, Eric A.; Mauzerall, Denise L.; Searchinger, Timothy D.; Dumas, Patrice; Shen, Ye

doi:10.1038/nature15743

Cited by 2,012 publications

(1,373 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…As such, there is clear room for improvement in management of water, carbon, and nitrogen in over-fertilised regions (eg, China and India) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution from agricultural lands and enhance environmental sustainability. 67 For example, it is estimated that in the farmlands of China, an improvement in nitrogen use effi ciency from 31% to 50% would cut synthetic nitrogen use by 41%, and greenhouse gas emissions by 39%. 68 The second element of this indicator domain will therefore track changes in food production and food waste over time and the consequent impacts upon greenhouse gas emissions and health.…”

Section: Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change

et al. 2017

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The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change is an international, multidisciplinary research collaboration between academic institutions and practitioners across the world. It follows on from the work of the 2015 Lancet Commission, which concluded that the response to climate change could be "the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century". The Lancet Countdown aims to track the health impacts of climate hazards; health resilience and adaptation; health co-benefi ts of climate change mitigation; economics and fi nance; and political and broader engagement. These focus areas form the fi ve thematic working groups of the Lancet Countdown and represent diff erent aspects of the complex association between health and climate change. These thematic groups will provide indicators for a global overview of health and climate change; national case studies highlighting countries leading the way or going against the trend; and engagement with a range of stakeholders. The Lancet Countdown ultimately aims to report annually on a series of indicators across these fi ve working groups. This paper outlines the potential indicators and indicator domains to be tracked by the collaboration, with suggestions on the methodologies and datasets available to achieve this end. The proposed indicator domains require further refi nement, and mark the beginning of an ongoing consultation process-from November, 2016 to early 2017-to develop these domains, identify key areas not currently covered, and change indicators where necessary. This collaboration will actively seek to engage with existing monitoring processes, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and WHO's climate and health country profi les. The indicators will also evolve over time through ongoing collaboration with experts and a range of stakeholders, and be dependent on the emergence of new evidence and knowledge. During the course of its work, the Lancet Countdown will adopt a collaborative and iterative process, which aims to complement existing initiatives, welcome engagement with new partners, and be open to developing new research projects on health and climate change.

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Section: Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change

et al. 2017

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“…7). Just as protocols established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have permitted nations to gauge their progress and commitment for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protocols for measuring and reporting on a NUE indicator for sustainable agriculture would enable governments to assess their progress in achieving food security goals while maintaining environmental quality (Zhang et al 2015).…”

Section: Sustainable Development Goal Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrients in the nexus

et al. 2016

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Synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer has enabled modern agriculture to greatly improve human nutrition during the twentieth century, but it has also created unintended human health and environmental pollution challenges for the twentyfirst century. Averaged globally, about half of the fertilizer-N applied to farms is removed with the crops, while the other half remains in the soil or is lost from farmers' fields, resulting in water and air pollution. As human population continues to grow and food security improves in the developing world, the dual development goals of producing more nutritious food with low pollution will require both technological and socioeconomic innovations in agriculture. Two case studies presented here, one in sub-Saharan Africa and the other in Midwestern United States, demonstrate how management of nutrients, water, and energy is inextricably linked in both small-scale and large-scale food production, and that science-based solutions to improve the efficiency of nutrient use can optimize food production while minimizing pollution. To achieve the needed large increases in nutrient use efficiency, however, technological developments must be accompanied by policies that recognize the complex economic and social factors affecting farmer decision-making and national policy priorities. Farmers need access to affordable nutrient supplies and support information, and the costs of improving efficiencies and avoiding pollution may need to be shared by society through innovative policies. Success will require interdisciplinary partnerships across public and private sectors, including farmers, private sector crop advisors, commodity supply chains, government agencies, university research and extension, and consumers.

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“…Excess nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from urban and agricultural areas contribute to these grand challenges [2,3]. Currently, the amount of N and P transported through streams and rivers to the ocean has increased by 2 to 20-fold [4,5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrient Retention in Restored Streams and Rivers: A Global Review and Synthesis

Johnson

Kaushal

Mayer

et al. 2016

Water

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Excess nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from human activities have contributed to degradation of coastal waters globally. A growing body of work suggests that hydrologically restoring streams and rivers in agricultural and urban watersheds has potential to increase N and P retention, but rates and mechanisms have not yet been analyzed and compared across studies. We conducted a review of nutrient retention within hydrologically reconnected streams and rivers, including 79 studies. We developed a typology characterizing different forms of stream and river restoration, and we also analyzed nutrient retention across this typology. The studies we reviewed used a variety of methods to analyze nutrient cycling. We performed a further intensive meta-analysis on nutrient spiraling studies because this method was the most consistent and comparable between studies. A meta-analysis of 240 experimental additions of ammonium (NH 4 + ), nitrate (NO 3´) , and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) was synthesized from 15 nutrient spiraling studies. Our results showed statistically significant relationships between nutrient uptake in restored streams and specific watershed attributes. Nitrate uptake metrics were significantly related to watershed surface area, impervious surface cover, and average reach width (p < 0.05). Ammonium uptake metrics were significantly related to discharge, velocity, and transient storage (p < 0.05). SRP uptake metrics were significantly related to watershed area, discharge, SRP concentrations, and chl a concentrations (p < 0.05). Given that most studies were conducted during baseflow, more research is necessary to characterize nutrient uptake during high flow. Furthermore, long-term studies are needed to understand changes in nutrient dynamics as projects evolve over time. Overall analysis suggests the size of the stream restoration (surface area), hydrologic connectivity, and hydrologic residence time are key drivers influencing nutrient retention at broader watershed scales and along the urban watershed continuum.

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Managing nitrogen for sustainable development

Cited by 2,012 publications

References 79 publications

The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change

The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change

Nutrients in the nexus

Nutrient Retention in Restored Streams and Rivers: A Global Review and Synthesis

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