Increased nitrogen use efficiency in crop production can provide economic and environmental benefits
Open accessAbstract
Potential economic and environmental benefits of increasing nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) are widely recognized but scarcely quantified. This study quantifies the effects of increased NUE on 1) the national agricultural economy using a simulation model of US agriculture and 2) regional water quality effects using a biogeochemical model for the Arkansas-White-Red river basin. National economic effects are reported for NUE improvement scenarios of 10%, 20%, 50%, and 100%, whereas regional water quality effects are estimated for a 20% NUE improvement scenario in the Arkansas-White-Red river basin. Simulating a 20% increase in NUE in row crops is shown to reduce N requirements by 1.4 million tonnes y-1 and increase farmer net profits by 1.6% ($743 million) per year by 2026 over the baseline simulation for the same period. For each 10% increase in NUE, annual farm revenues for commodity crops increased over the baseline by approximately $350 million per year by 2026. Changes in crop prices and land-use relative to the baseline were less than 2%. This suggests a net benefit even though fertilizer cost savings can result in increased cultivation of land, i.e., 'Jevon's paradox'. Results from the biogeochemical model of the Arkansas-White-Red river basin suggest that a 20% increase in NUE corresponds to a 5.72% reduction in nitrate loadings to freshwaters, with higher reductions in agricultural watersheds. The value of these reductions was estimated as $43 ha-1, for a total of $15.3 to 136.7 million yr-1 in avoided water treatment costs. After estimating the social value of increased NUE, we conclude with a discussion of potential strategies to increase efficiency and the research needed to achieve this goal. These include perennialization of the agricultural landscape, genetic crop improvement, targeted fertilizer application, and manipulation of the plant-root microbiome.
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Nitrogen fertilizers negatively impact aquatic ecosystems through nutrient runoff, and contaminate ground and drinking water.
“Furthermore, nitrogen fertilizers negatively impact aquatic ecosystems through nutrient runoff, and contaminate ground and drinking water (Houlton et al., 2019;Langholtz et al., 2021).”
From Genetic resources and precise gene editing for targeted improvement of barley abiotic stress tolerance (2023) · cites this paper as Langholtz et al., 2021
Increasing NUE in crops is a sustainable solution that not only maximizes yield potential in the face of increasing global food demands, but also would mitigate the economic and environmental impacts of fertilizer use.
“Increasing NUE in crops is a sustainable solution that not only maximizes yield potential in the face of increasing global food demands, but also would mitigate the economic and environmental impacts of fertilizer use (Houlton et al., 2019;He et al., 2021;Langholtz et al., 2021;Karunarathne et al., 2022).”
From Genetic resources and precise gene editing for targeted improvement of barley abiotic stress tolerance (2023) · cites this paper as Langholtz et al., 2021
A 20% increase in NUE would increase crop revenue by USD 743 million per annum and reduce the cost of water treatment by about USD 15-136 million per annum.
“A 20% increase in NUE would increase crop revenue by USD 743 million per annum and reduce the cost of water treatment by about USD 15-136 million per annum (Langholtz et al., 2021).”
From Genetic resources and precise gene editing for targeted improvement of barley abiotic stress tolerance (2023) · cites this paper as Langholtz et al., 2021
Modelling of USA cropping systems has estimated that a 10% increase in NUE over a 10-year period would increase crop revenue by USD 350 million per annum.
“Modelling of USA cropping systems has estimated that a 10% increase in NUE over a 10-year period would increase crop revenue by USD 350 million per annum.”
From Genetic resources and precise gene editing for targeted improvement of barley abiotic stress tolerance (2023) · cites this paper as Langholtz et al., 2021
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“A 20% increase in NUE would increase crop revenue by USD 743 million per annum and reduce the cost of water treatment by about USD 15–136 million per annum (Langholtz et al., 2021).”
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- Authors
- Langholtz, M., Davison, B. H., Jager, H. I., Eaton, L., Baskaran, L. M., Davis, M., & Brandt, C. C.
- Affiliations
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US)
- Corresponding author
- Langholtz, Matthew
- ORCID
- Venue
- Science of The Total Environment
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-03
- Volume
- 758
- Pages
- 143602
- ISSN
- 0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3102647085
- Cited by
- 63
- References
- 78
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 9
- FWCI
- 2.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- The Science of The Total Environment (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Bioenergy Technologies Office
- U.S. Department of Energy
- Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DE-15593)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Agricultural economics and policies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Agricultural Science and Fertilization
- Keywords
- nitrogen use efficiency, agricultural economics, water quality, nitrate loading, fertilizer cost savings, farm profitability, agricultural watersheds, perennial agriculture, crop genetic improvement
- MeSH terms
- Crop Production, Agriculture, Arkansas, Fertilizers, Nitrogen, Crops, Agricultural
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