Optimizing nitrogen management in the food system for sustainable development: a case study of Quzhou County

Highlights

● The framework of multi-objective nitrogen (N) management was developed.

● Multi-objective targets were established to support agriculture sustainable production.

● A food chain approach was developed to accurately quantify N flow in food system.

● “3R” principle was used in developing N management strategy.

● The collaboration with different stakeholders is crucial for promoting technologies.

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) is an essential nutrient for food production. The rapid increase in population requires high inputs of N to meet the growing food demand. If not managed well, the substantial loss of N from the food system has multiple impacts on grain yield, air and water pollution, and the economic benefits of agricultural. Multi-objective (food security, environmental sustainability and economic sustainability) synergistic consideration of N management in the food system is still lacking. This study employed strategies for optimizing N management in the food system, using Quzhou County as a typical example on the North China Plain. Firstly, a food chain approach was adopted to understand drivers and reasons behind N losses from the food system. Secondly, a top-down approach was used to define multi-objective N management, taking into consideration food security, environmental sustainability and economic sustainability. Multi-objective N management aims to reduce N losses to the environment and increase N use efficiencies, while simultaneously increasing yields and economic benefits. Thirdly, 3R (reduce-retain-recycle) N management strategies were identified for specific crops and animals through a bottom-up approach and then analyzed the potential of these strategies to achieve the multi-objectives. Finally, there is a discussion of how to engage different stakeholders to promote the technologies implementation. This study provides new insights into the synergistic achievement of multi-objective N management in the food system and the development of environmentally-friendly agriculture.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Agriculture green development / food system / multi-objective / nitrogen management

References

[1] Ma L, Bai Z, Ma W, Guo M, Jiang R, Liu J, Oenema O, Velthof G L, Whitmore A P, Crawford J, Dobermann A, Schwoob M, Zhang F . Exploring future food provision scenarios for China. Environmental Science & Technology, 2019, 53(3): 1385–1393

[2] Gu B, Zhang X, Lam S K, Yu Y, van Grinsven H J M, Zhang S, Wang X, Bodirsky B L, Wang S, Duan J, Ren C, Bouwman L, de Vries W, Xu J, Sutton M A, Chen D . Cost-effective mitigation of nitrogen pollution from global croplands. Nature, 2023, 613(7942): 77–84

[3] Shen J, Zhu Q, Jiao X, Ying H, Wang H, Wen X, Xu W, Li T, Cong W, Liu X, Hou Y, Cui Z, Oenema O, Davies W J, Zhang F . Agriculture Green Development: a model for China and the world. Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, 2020, 7(1): 5–13

[4] Wang M, Ma L, Strokal M, Ma W, Liu X, Kroeze C . Hotspots for nitrogen and phosphorus losses from food production in China: a county-scale analysis. Environmental Science & Technology, 2018, 52(10): 5782–5791

[5] Meng F, Wang M, Strokal M, Kroeze C, Ma L, Li Y, Zhang Q, Wei Z, Hou Y, Liu X, Xu W, Zhang F . Nitrogen losses from food production in the North China Plain: a case study for Quzhou. Science of the Total Environment, 2022, 816: 151557

[6] Feng S, Xu W, Cheng M, Ma Y, Wu L, Kang J, Wang K, Tang A, Collett J L Jr, Fang Y, Goulding K, Liu X, Zhang F . Overlooked nonagricultural and wintertime agricultural NH₃ emissions in Quzhou County, North China Plain: evidence from 15N-stable isotopes. Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 2022, 9(2): 127–133

[7] Meng F, Zhang Y, Kang J, Heal M R, Reis S, Wang M, Liu L, Wang K, Yu S, Li P, Wei J, Hou Y, Zhang Y, Liu X, Cui Z, Xu W, Zhang F . Trends in secondary inorganic aerosol pollution in China and its responses to emission controls of precursors in wintertime. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2022, 22(9): 6291–6308

[8] Xu W, Zhao Y, Wen Z, Chang Y, Pan Y, Sun Y, Ma X, Sha Z, Li Z, Kang J, Liu L, Tang A, Wang K, Zhang Y, Guo Y, Zhang L, Sheng L, Zhang X, Gu B, Song Y, Van Damme M, Clarisse L, Coheur P F, Collett J L Jr, Goulding K, Zhang F, He K, Liu X . Increasing importance of ammonia emission abatement in PM_2.5 pollution control. Science Bulletin, 2022, 67(17): 1745–1749

[9] Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China (MEE). Bulletin on the State of China’s Ecological Environment in 2019. Beijing: MEE, 2019 (in Chinese)

[10] Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China (MEE). Bulletin on the State of China’s Ecological Environment in 2020. Beijing: MEE, 2020 (in Chinese)

[11] Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China (MEE). Bulletin on the State of China’s Ecological Environment in 2021. Beijing: MEE, 2021 (in Chinese)

[12] Wang K Y. Network Monitoring and Assessment of Air and Water Environmental Quality in Quzhou County. Thesis for the Master’s Degree. Beijing: China Agricultural University, 2023 (in Chinese)

[13] Niu X, Zhang C, Ju X. Mechanism of nitrogen leaching in fluvo-aquic soil and deep vadose zone in the North China Plain. Chinese Journal of Eco-Agriculture, 2021, 29(1): 53−65 (in Chinese)

[14] He Z, Zhang Y, Liu X, Xu W, Hou Y, Wang H, Zhang F . Ammonia mitigation potential in an optimized crop-layer production system. Science of the Total Environment, 2022, 841: 156701

[15] Wang J, Sha Z, Zhang J, Qin W, Xu W, Goulding K, Liu X . Improving nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency and minimizing losses and global warming potential by optimizing applications and using nitrogen synergists in a maize-wheat rotation. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 2023, 353: 108538

[16] Liu X, Cui Z, Hao T, Yuan L, Zhang Y, Gu B, Xu W, Ying H, Zhang W, Li T, Yan X, Goulding K, Kanter D, Howarth R, Stevens C, Ladha J, Li Q, Liu L, de Vries W, Zhang F . A new approach to holistic nitrogen management in China. Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, 2022, 9(3): 490–510

[17] Cui Z, Zhang H, Chen X, Zhang C, Ma W, Huang C, Zhang W, Mi G, Miao Y, Li X, Gao Q, Yang J, Wang Z, Ye Y, Guo S, Lu J, Huang J, Lv S, Sun Y, Liu Y, Peng X, Ren J, Li S, Deng X, Shi X, Zhang Q, Yang Z, Tang L, Wei C, Jia L, Zhang J, He M, Tong Y, Tang Q, Zhong X, Liu Z, Cao N, Kou C, Ying H, Yin Y, Jiao X, Zhang Q, Fan M, Jiang R, Zhang F, Dou Z . Pursuing sustainable productivity with millions of smallholder farmers. Nature, 2018, 555(7696): 363–366

[18] Guo Y, Chen Y, Searchinger T D, Zhou M, Pan D, Yang J, Wu L, Cui Z, Zhang W, Zhang F, Ma L, Sun Y, Zondlo M A, Zhang L, Mauzerall D L . Air quality, nitrogen use efficiency and food security in China are improved by cost-effective agricultural nitrogen management. Nature Food, 2020, 1(10): 648–658

[19] Kang J, Wang J, Heal M R, Goulding K, De Vries W, Zhao Y, Feng S, Zhang X, Gu B, Niu X, Zhang H, Liu X, Cui Z, Zhang F, Xu W . Ammonia mitigation campaign with smallholder farmers improves air quality while ensuring high cereal production. Nature Food, 2023, 4(9): 751–761

[20] Velthof G L, Oudendag D, Witzke H P, Asman W A H, Klimont Z, Oenema O . Integrated assessment of nitrogen losses from agriculture in EU-27 using MITERRA-EUROPE. Journal of Environmental Quality, 2009, 38(2): 402–417

[21] Gu B, Ju X, Chang J, Ge Y, Vitousek P M . Integrated reactive nitrogen budgets and future trends in China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2015, 112(28): 8792–8797

[22] Ma L, Ma W Q, Velthof G L, Wang F H, Qin W, Zhang F S, Oenema O . Modeling nutrient flows in the food chain of China. Journal of Environmental Quality, 2010, 39(4): 1279–1289

[23] Ma L, Velthof G L, Wang F H, Qin W, Zhang W F, Liu Z, Zhang Y, Wei J, Lesschen J P, Ma W Q, Oenema O, Zhang F S . Nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiencies and losses in the food chain in China at regional scales in 1980 and 2005. Science of the Total Environment, 2012, 434: 51–61

[24] Meng F, Ronda R, Strokal M, Kroeze C, Ma L, Krolc M, de Graaf I, Zhao Y, Wang Y, Du X, Liu X, Xu W, Zhang F, Wang M . Setting goals for agricultural nitrogen emission reduction to ensure safe air and groundwater quality: a case study of Quzhou, the North China Plain. Journal of Environmental Management, 2024, 351: 119737

[25] Zhang X, Gu B, Van Grinsven H, Lam S K, Liang X, Bai M, Chen D . Societal benefits of halving agricultural ammonia emissions in China far exceed the abatement costs. Nature Communications, 2020, 11(1): 4357

[26] Schulte-Uebbing L F, Beusen A H W, Bouwman A F, de Vries W . From planetary to regional boundaries for agricultural nitrogen pollution. Nature, 2022, 610(7932): 507–512

[27] Zhang X, Yao G, Vishwakarma S, Dalin C, Komarek A M, Kanter D R, Davis K F, Pfeifer K, Zhao J, Zou T, D’odorico P, Folberth C, Rodriguez F G, Fanzo J, Rosa L, Dennison W, Musumba M, Heyman A, Davidson E A . Quantitative assessment of agricultural sustainability reveals divergent priorities among nations. One Earth, 2021, 4(9): 1262–1277

[28] Chen X, Cui Z, Vitousek P, Cassman K, Matson P, Bai J, Meng Q, Hou P, Yue S, Romheld V, Zhang F . Integrated soil-crop system management for food security. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2011, 108(16): 6399–6404

[29] Li T Y. Evaluation of integrated effectiveness of enhanced efficiency fertilizers and influencing Factors. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Beijing: China Agricultural University, 2018 (in Chinese)

[30] Wang H, Long W, Chadwick D, Velthof G L, Oenema O, Ma W, Wang J, Qin W, Hou Y, Zhang F . Can dietary manipulations improve the productivity of pigs with lower environmental and economic cost? A global meta-analysis. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 2020, 289: 106748

[31] Ma Y F. Environmental and Economic Performance and Optimization Approach of Typical Crop-livestock Systems. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Beijing: China Agricultural University, 2018 (in Chinese)

[32] Zhang W, Cao G, Li X, Zhang H, Wang C, Liu Q, Chen X, Cui Z, Shen J, Jiang R, Mi G, Miao Y, Zhang F, Dou Z . Closing yield gaps in China by empowering smallholder farmers. Nature, 2016, 537(7622): 671–674

[33] Wei Z, Zhuang M, Hellegers P, Cui Z, Hoffland E . Towards circular nitrogen use in the agri-food system at village and county level in China. Agricultural Systems, 2023, 209: 103683

[34] National Bureau of Statistics of the People’s Republic of China (NBSC). Quzhou Statistical Yearbook. Beijing: China Statistics Press, 2020 (in Chinese)

[35] The Comprehensive Group for Research on Agricultural Development Strategy in China by 2050 . Strategies for China’s Agricultural Development Toward 2050. Strategic Study of CAE, 2022, 24(1): 1–10

[36] The Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China. China’s Food and Nutrition Development Program (2014–2020). Beijing: The Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China, 2014. Available at The Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China website on December 6, 2023

[37] Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People’s Republic of China (MARA). Notice on the Resource Utilization of Livestock and Poultry Manure in 2020. Beijing: MARA, 2020. Available at MARA website on December 6, 2023

[38] Wang S Q. The Way to Regulate Environmental and Economic Benefits of Supply Chain of Quzhou Laying Hens. Thesis for the Marster’s Degree. Beijing: China Agricultural University, 2023 (in Chinese)

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42175137)，the Major Science and Technology Project of Yunnan Province (202202AE090034), the China Scholarship Council (201913043) and Hainan University, the High-level Team Project of China Agricultural University. We acknowledge Jiahui Kang, Zhilong He, Xiaoying Zhang, Zhibiao Wei, Luncheng You, Shilei Cui, Siqi Wang, and Zhichao An from China Agricultural University for their constructive comments and data summary.

Compliance with ethics guidelines

Fanlei Meng, Mengru Wang, Yong Hou, Lin Ma, Wenqi Ma, Xuejun Liu, Fusuo Zhang, and Wen Xu declare that they have no conflicts of interest or financial conflicts to disclose. This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

The Author(s) 2024. Published by Higher Education Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)