Cited by 3,054Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental ImpactAgricultural Science and FertilizationSoil and Water Nutrient Dynamics

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 89 of the 89 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Managing nitrogen for sustainable development.

Open access

Zhang, Xin, Davidson, Eric A., Mauzerall, Denise L., Searchinger, Timothy D., Dumas, Patrice, Shen, Ye·2015·Nature

DOI 10.1038/nature15743

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Improvements in nitrogen use efficiency in crop production are critical for addressing the triple challenges of food security, environmental degradation and climate change. Such improvements are conditional not only on technological innovation, but also on socio-economic factors that are at present poorly understood. Here we examine historical patterns of agricultural nitrogen-use efficiency and find a broad range of national approaches to agricultural development and related pollution. We analyse examples of nitrogen use and propose targets, by geographic region and crop type, to meet the 2050 global food demand projected by the Food and Agriculture Organization while also meeting the Sustainable Development Goals pertaining to agriculture recently adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Furthermore, we discuss socio-economic policies and technological innovations that may help achieve them.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1038/nature15743

Cites

89 of 89 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

The text we found for this paper looks like another document, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The text we found for this paper looks like another document, so the self-check wasn’t run.

Bounds testing approaches to the analysis of level relationships
Pesaran, M. H., Shin, Y., & Smith, R. J. (2001) · Journal of Applied Econometrics · doi:10.1002/jae.616 · Cited by 20,385
Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet
Steffen, W., Richardson, K., Rockström, J., Cornell, S. E., Fetzer, I., Bennett, E. M., Biggs, R., Carpenter, S. R., de Vries, W., de Wit, C. A., et al. (2015) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1259855 · Cited by 12,527
Economic growth and the environment
Grossman, G. M., & Krueger, A. B. (1995) · The Quarterly Journal of Economics · doi:10.2307/2118443 · Cited by 9,901
Solutions for a cultivated planet
Foley, J. A., Ramankutty, N., Brauman, K. A., Cassidy, E. S., Gerber, J. S., Johnston, M., Mueller, N. D., O’Connell, C., Ray, D. K., West, P. C., et al. (2011) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature10452 · Cited by 8,476
Global food demand and the sustainable intensification of agriculture
Tilman, D., Balzer, C., Hill, J., & Befort, B. L. (2011) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1116437108 · Cited by 7,692
Transformation of the Nitrogen Cycle: Recent Trends, Questions, and Potential Solutions
Galloway, J. N., Townsend, A. R., Erisman, J. W., Bekunda, M., Cai, Z., Freney, J. R., Martinelli, L. A., Seitzinger, S. P., & Sutton, M. A. (2008) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1136674 · Cited by 6,995
The story of phosphorus: Global food security and food for thought
Cordell, D., Drangert, J.-O., & White, S. B. (2009) · Global Environmental Change · doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2008.10.009 · Cited by 5,200
How a century of ammonia synthesis changed the world
Erisman, J. W., Sutton, M. A., Galloway, J. N., Klimont, Z., & Winiwarter, W. (2008) · Nature Geoscience · doi:10.1038/ngeo325 · Cited by 4,630
Handbook of Economic Growth
Aghion, P., & Durlauf, S. N. (2005) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Cited by 4,447
Environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis: a survey
Dinda, S. (2004) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2004.02.011 · Cited by 4,106

Show all 89 references

Research works printed but not linked: 1

Nakicenovic, N. & Swart, R. (eds) IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2000)

Sorted by citations

Items 201–300 of 1,001

Blending urea and slow-release nitrogen fertilizer increases dryland maize yield and nitrogen use efficiency while mitigating ammonia volatilization
Guo, J., Fan, J., Zhang, F., Yan, S., Zheng, J., Wu, Y., Li, J., Wang, Y., Sun, X., Liu, X., et al. (2021) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148058 · Cited by 128
Reducing soil nitrogen losses from fertilizer use in global maize and wheat production
Wang, C., Shen, Y., Fang, X., Xiao, S., Liu, G., Wang, L., Gu, B., Zhou, F., Chen, D., Tian, H., et al. (2024) · Nature Geoscience · doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01542-x · Cited by 130
Valorisation of post-sorption materials: Opportunities, strategies, and challenges
Harikishore Kumar Reddy, D., Vijayaraghavan, K., Kim, J. A., & Yun, Y.-S. (2017) · Advances in Colloid and Interface Science · doi:10.1016/j.cis.2016.12.002 · Cited by 127
Improvement of nutritional quality of food crops with fertilizer: a global meta-analysis
Ishfaq, M., Wang, Y., Xu, J., Hassan, M. U., Yuan, H., Liu, L., He, B., Ejaz, I., White, P. J., Çakmak, İ., et al. (2023) · Agronomy for Sustainable Development · doi:10.1007/s13593-023-00923-7 · Cited by 142
Technical opportunities to reduce global anthropogenic emissions of nitrous oxide
Winiwarter, W., Höglund-Isaksson, L., Klimont, Z., Schöpp, W., & Amann, M. C. (2017) · Environmental Research Letters · doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aa9ec9 · Cited by 126
The input reduction principle of agroecology is wrong when it comes to mineral fertilizer use in sub-Saharan Africa
Falconnier, G. N., Cardinael, R., Corbeels, M., Baudron, F., Chivenge, P., Couëdel, A., Ripoche, A., Affholder, F., Naudin, K., Benaillon, E., et al. (2023) · Outlook on Agriculture · doi:10.1177/00307270231199795 · Cited by 125
Mechanical side-deep fertilization mitigates ammonia volatilization and nitrogen runoff and increases profitability in rice production independent of fertilizer type and split ratio
Min, J., Sun, H., Wang, Y., YunFeng, P., Kronzucker, H. J., Dongqing, Z., & Shi, W. (2021) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128370 · Cited by 124
Rainfall driven nitrate transport in agricultural karst surface river system: Insight from high resolution hydrochemistry and nitrate isotopes
Wang, Z., Li, S., Yue, F., Qin, C., Buckerfield, S. J., & Zeng, J. (2019) · Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment · doi:10.1016/j.agee.2019.106787 · Cited by 123
Rainfall and conduit drainage combine to accelerate nitrate loss from a karst agroecosystem: Insights from stable isotope tracing and high-frequency nitrate sensing
Yue, F., Li, S., Waldron, S., Wang, Z., Oliver, D. M., Chen, X., & Liu, C. (2020) · Water Research · doi:10.1016/j.watres.2020.116388 · Cited by 123
Manure combined with chemical fertilizer increases rice productivity by improving soil health, post-anthesis biomass yield, and nitrogen metabolism
Iqbal, A., He, L., Ali, I., Ullah, S., Khan, A. A., Khan, A., Akhtar, K., Wei, S., Zhao, Q., Zhang, J., et al. (2020) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0238934 · Cited by 128
Linking crop- and soil-based approaches to evaluate system nitrogen-use efficiency and tradeoffs
Martinez‐Feria, R. A., Castellano, M. J., Dietzel, R. N., Helmers, M. J., Liebman, M., Huber, I., & Archontoulis, S. V. (2018) · Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment · doi:10.1016/j.agee.2018.01.002 · Cited by 135
A “more ammonium solution” to mitigate nitrogen pollution and boost crop yields
Subbarao, G. V., & Searchinger, T. D. (2021) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2107576118 · Cited by 122
Nitrogen recovery by a halophilic ammonium-assimilating microbiome: A new strategy for saline wastewater treatment.
Zhang, M.-R., Han, F., Li, Y.-K., Liu, Z., Chen, H., Li, Z., Li, Q., & Zhou, W.-Z. (2021) · Water Research · doi:10.1016/j.watres.2021.117832 · Cited by 99
Redox-neutral electrochemical decontamination of hypersaline wastewater with high technology readiness level
Zhang, G., Li, Y., Zhao, C., Gu, J., Zhou, G., Shi, Y., Zhou, Q., Xiao, F., Fu, W., Chen, Q., et al. (2024) · Nature Nanotechnology · doi:10.1038/s41565-024-01669-3 · Cited by 122
Nitrogen Availability Dampens the Positive Impacts of CO 2 Fertilization on Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon and Water Cycles
He, L., Chen, J. M., Croft, H. L., Gonsamo, A., Luo, X., Liu, J. J., Zheng, T., Liu, R., & Liu, Y. (2017) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1002/2017gl075981 · Cited by 121
Strategies to improve soil health by optimizing the plant–soil–microbe–anthropogenic activity nexus
Wang, L., Lu, P., Feng, S., Hamel, C., Sun, D., Siddique, K. H. M., & Gan, G. Y. (2023) · Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment · doi:10.1016/j.agee.2023.108750 · Cited by 124
An agenda for integrated system-wide interdisciplinary agri-food research
Horton, P., Banwart, S. A., Brockington, D., Brown, G. W., Bruce, R., Cameron, D. D., Holdsworth, M., Koh, S. C. L., Ton, J., & Jackson, P. (2017) · Food Security · doi:10.1007/s12571-017-0648-4 · Cited by 128
The environmental impact of fertilizer embodied in a wheat-to-bread supply chain
Goucher, L., Bruce, R., Cameron, D. D., Koh, S. C. L., & Horton, P. (2017) · Nature Plants · doi:10.1038/nplants.2017.12 · Cited by 121
Changing patterns of global nitrogen deposition driven by socio-economic development
Zhu, J., Jia, Y., Yu, G., Wang, Q., He, N., Chen, Z., He, H., Zhu, X., Li, P., Zhang, F. S., et al. (2025) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-024-55606-y · Cited by 133
Starch-based controlled release fertilizers: A review
Channab, B., Idrissi, A. E., Zahouily, M., Essamlali, Y., & White, J. C. (2023) · International Journal of Biological Macromolecules · doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.124075 · Cited by 120
Protecting the Amazon forest and reducing global warming via agricultural intensification
Marin, F. R., Zanon, A. J., Monzon, J. P., Andrade, J. F., Silva, E. H. F. M., Richter, G. L., Antolin, L. A. S., Ribeiro, B. S. M. R., Ribas, G. G., Battisti, R., et al. (2022) · Nature Sustainability · doi:10.1038/s41893-022-00968-8 · Cited by 122
Nitrous oxide (N2O) flux responds exponentially to nitrogen fertilizer in irrigated wheat in the Yaqui Valley, Mexico
Millar, N., Urrea, A., Kahmark, K., Shcherbak, I., Robertson, G. P., & Ortiz‐Monasterio, I. (2018) · Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment · doi:10.1016/j.agee.2018.04.003 · Cited by 121
Managing urban development could halve nitrogen pollution in China
Deng, O., Wang, S., Ran, J., Huang, S., Zhang, X., Duan, J., Zhang, L., Xia, Y., Reis, S., Xu, J., et al. (2024) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-023-44685-y · Cited by 120
Beneficial soil-borne bacteria and fungi: a promising way to improve plant nitrogen acquisition
Dellagi, A., Quillere, I., & Hirel, B. (2020) · Journal of Experimental Botany · doi:10.1093/jxb/eraa112 · Cited by 116
The transformation of agriculture in China: Looking back and looking forward
Jiao, X., Mongol, N., & Fu-suo, Z. (2018) · Journal of Integrative Agriculture · doi:10.1016/s2095-3119(17)61774-x · Cited by 115
Planetary Boundaries Analysis of Low-Carbon Ammonia Production Routes
D’Angelo, S. C., Cobo, S., Tulus, V., Nabera, A., Martín, A. J., Pérez‐Ramírez, J., & Guillén‐Gosálbez, G. (2021) · ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering · doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c01915 · Cited by 118
Boosting the efficiency of urea synthesis via cooperative electroreduction of N 2 and CO 2 on MoP
Jiao, D., Dong, Y., Cui, X., Cai, Q., Cabrera, C. R., Zhao, J., & Chen, Z. (2022) · Journal of Materials Chemistry A · doi:10.1039/d2ta07531h · Cited by 115
Application of biochar and nitrogen influences fluxes of CO2, CH4 and N2O in a forest soil
Hawthorne, I., Johnson, M. S., Jassal, R. S., Black, T. A., Grant, N. J., & Smukler, S. (2017) · Journal of Environmental Management · doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.12.066 · Cited by 118
Application of biochar-coated urea controlled loss of fertilizer nitrogen and increased nitrogen use efficiency
Jia, Y., Hu, Z., Ba, Y., & Qi, W. (2021) · Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture · doi:10.1186/s40538-020-00205-4 · Cited by 116
Nitrogen recovery from low-strength wastewater by combined membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) and ion exchange (IE) process
Wang, Z., Gong, H., Zhang, Y., Liang, P., & Wang, K. (2017) · Chemical Engineering Journal · doi:10.1016/j.cej.2017.01.082 · Cited by 113
Fertilizer and sustainable intensification in Sub-Saharan Africa
Holden, S. T. (2018) · Global Food Security · doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2018.07.001 · Cited by 123
Evaluating the potential health and economic effects of nitrogen fertilizer application in grain production systems of China
Wang, Y., & Lü, Y. (2020) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121635 · Cited by 115
Achieving global food security by focusing on nitrogen efficiency potentials and local production
He, G., Liu, X., & Cui, Z. (2021) · Global Food Security · doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2021.100536 · Cited by 112
Potential of Wheat Straw, Spruce Sawdust, and Lignin as High Organic Carbon Soil Amendments to Improve Agricultural Nitrogen Retention Capacity: An Incubation Study
Reichel, R., Wei, J., Islam, M. S., Schmid, C., Wissel, H., Schröder, P., Schloter, M., & Brüggemann, N. (2018) · Frontiers in Plant Science · doi:10.3389/fpls.2018.00900 · Cited by 110
“1 billion people as assumed for the year 2050 (Zhang et al., 2015).”
Background
Effects of Nitrogen and Shading on Root Morphologies, Nutrient Accumulation, and Photosynthetic Parameters in Different Rice Genotypes
Pan, S., Liu, H., Mo, Z., Patterson, B., Duan, M., Tian, H., Hu, S., & Tang, X. (2016) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/srep32148 · Cited by 114
Harnessing atmospheric nitrogen for cereal crop production
Bloch, S. E., Ryu, M., Özaydın, B., & Broglie, R. (2019) · Current Opinion in Biotechnology · doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2019.09.024 · Cited by 107
Environmental impacts of nitrogen emissions in China and the role of policies in emission reduction
Liu, X., Xu, W., Du, E., Tang, A., Zhang, Y., Zhang, Y. Y., Wen, Z., Hao, T., Pan, Y., Zhang, L., et al. (2020) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences · doi:10.1098/rsta.2019.0324 · Cited by 118
High Nitrate Accumulation in the Vadose Zone after Land-Use Change from Croplands to Orchards
Gao, J., Wang, S., Li, Z., Wang, L., Chen, Z., & Zhou, J. (2021) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.0c06730 · Cited by 112
Nanobubbles promote nutrient utilization and plant growth in rice by upregulating nutrient uptake genes and stimulating growth hormone production
Wang, Y., Wang, S., Sun, J., Dai, H., Zhang, B., Xiang, W., Hu, Z., Li, P., Yang, J., & Wen, Z. Y. (2021) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149627 · Cited by 112
Planet-compatible pathways for transitioning the chemical industry
Meng, F., Wagner, A., Kremer, A. B., Kanazawa, D., Leung, J. J., Goult, P., Guan, M., Herrmann, S., Speelman, E. N., Sauter, P., et al. (2023) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2218294120 · Cited by 117
A technology-forcing approach to reduce nitrogen pollution
Kanter, D., & Searchinger, T. D. (2018) · Nature Sustainability · doi:10.1038/s41893-018-0143-8 · Cited by 113
Land use interacts with changes in catchment hydrology to generate chronic nitrate pollution in karst waters and strong seasonality in excess nitrate export
Yue, F., Waldron, S., Li, S., Wang, Z., Zeng, J., Xu, S., Zhang, Z., & Oliver, D. M. (2019) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134062 · Cited by 111
New challenges of food security in Northwest China: Water footprint and virtual water perspective
Liu, X., Shi, L., Engel, B. A., Sun, S., Zhao, X., Wu, P., & Wang, Y. (2019) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118939 · Cited by 112
Management‐induced changes in soil organic carbon and related crop yield dynamics in China's cropland
Lin, B., Li, R.-C., Liu, K., Oladele, O. P., Xu, Z., Lal, R., Zhao, X., & Zhang, H. (2023) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/gcb.16703 · Cited by 112
Optimizing cover crop practices as a sustainable solution for global agroecosystem services
Qiu, T., Shi, Y., Peñuelas, J., Liu, J., Cui, Q., Sardans, J., Zhou, F., Xia, L., Yan, W., Zhao, S., et al. (2024) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-024-54536-z · Cited by 115
Surface engineering on bulk Cu2O for efficient electrosynthesis of urea
Dai, Z., Chen, Y., Zhang, H., Cheng, M., Zhang, B., Feng, P., Feng, Y., & Zhang, G. (2025) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-025-57708-7 · Cited by 111
A Research Road Map for Responsible Use of Agricultural Nitrogen
Udvardi, M. K., Below, F. E., Castellano, M. J., Eagle, A. J., Giller, K. E., Ladha, J. K., Liu, X., Maaz, T. M., Nova-Franco, B., Raghuram, N., et al. (2021) · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · doi:10.3389/fsufs.2021.660155 · Cited by 116
Intensifying crop rotations with pulse crops enhances system productivity and soil organic carbon in semi-arid environments
Liu, K., Bandara, M., Hamel, C., Knight, J. D., & Gan, Y. (2019) · Field Crops Research · doi:10.1016/j.fcr.2019.107657 · Cited by 109
History of anthropogenic Nitrogen inputs (HaNi) to the terrestrial biosphere: a 5 arcmin resolution annual dataset from 1860 to 2019
Tian, H., Bian, Z.-H., Shi, H., Qin, X., Pan, N., Lu, C.-Q., Pan, S., Tubiello, F., Chang, J.-F., Conchedda, G., et al. (2022) · Earth System Science Data · doi:10.5194/essd-14-4551-2022 · Cited by 111
Energy and food security implications of transitioning synthetic nitrogen fertilizers to net-zero emissions
Rosa, L., & Gabrielli, P. (2022) · Environmental Research Letters · doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aca815 · Cited by 127
Nitrogen use efficiency and crop production: Patterns of regional variation in the United States, 1987–2012
Swaney, D. P., Howarth, R. W., & Hong, B. (2018) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.027 · Cited by 108
Fluorine-free Ti 3 C 2 T x (T = O, OH) nanosheets (∼50–100 nm) for nitrogen fixation under ambient conditions
Li, T., Yan, X., Huang, L., Li, J., Yao, L., Zhu, Q., Wang, W., Abbas, W., Naz, R., Gu, J., et al. (2019) · Journal of Materials Chemistry A · doi:10.1039/c9ta03254a · Cited by 109
Globally elevated greenhouse gas emissions from polluted urban rivers
Xu, W., Wang, G., Liu, S., Wang, J., McDowell, W. H., Huang, K., Raymond, P. A., Yang, Z., & Xia, X. (2024) · Nature Sustainability · doi:10.1038/s41893-024-01358-y · Cited by 108
Manure application increased crop yields by promoting nitrogen use efficiency in the soils of 40-year soybean-maize rotation
Hua, W., Luo, P., An, N., Cai, F., Zhang, S., Chen, K., Yang, J., & Han, X. (2020) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-020-71932-9 · Cited by 107
Evolutionarily informed machine learning enhances the power of predictive gene-to-phenotype relationships
Cheng, C., Li, Y., Varala, K., Bubert, J., Huang, J., Kim, G. J., Halim, J. Y., Arp, J. J., Shih, H.-J. S., Levinson, G., et al. (2021) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-021-25893-w · Cited by 104
Climate change unequally affects nitrogen use and losses in global croplands
Ren, C., Zhang, X., Reis, S., Wang, S., Jin, J., Xu, J. M., & Gu, B. (2023) · Nature Food · doi:10.1038/s43016-023-00730-z · Cited by 112
Nitrogen use efficiencies in Chinese agricultural systems and implications for food security and environmental protection
Gu, B., Ju, X., Chang, S. X., Ge, Y., & Chang, J. (2017) · Regional Environmental Change · doi:10.1007/s10113-016-1101-5 · Cited by 106
Azotobacter chroococcum as a potentially useful bacterial biofertilizer for cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum ): Effect in reducing N fertilization
Perdomo, F. A., Abril, J., Camelo-Rusinque, M., Moreno-Galván, A., Pastrana, I., Rojas‐Tapias, D. F., & Bonilla, R. (2017) · Revista Argentina de Microbiología · doi:10.1016/j.ram.2017.04.006 · Cited by 106
Optimization of reduced chemical fertilizer use in tea gardens based on the assessment of related environmental and economic benefits
Wang, Z., Geng, Y., & Liang, T. (2019) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136439 · Cited by 108
Long-term diverse rotation alters nitrogen cycling bacterial groups and nitrous oxide emissions after nitrogen fertilization
Linton, N. F., Machado, P. V. F., Deen, B., Wagner‐Riddle, C., & Dunfield, K. E. (2020) · Soil Biology and Biochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2020.107917 · Cited by 107
Rice nitrogen nutrition estimation with RGB images and machine learning methods
Shi, P., Wang, Y., Xu, J., Zhao, Y., Yang, B., Yuan, Z., & Sun, Q. (2020) · Computers and Electronics in Agriculture · doi:10.1016/j.compag.2020.105860 · Cited by 113
Responsible plant nutrition: A new paradigm to support food system transformation
Dobermann, A., Bruulsema, T. W., Çakmak, İ., Gerard, B. G., Majumdar, K., McLaughlin, M., Reidsma, P., Vanlauwe, B., Wollenberg, L., Zhang, F. S., et al. (2022) · Global Food Security · doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2022.100636 · Cited by 113
Soil conservation in the 21st century: why we need smart agricultural intensification
Govers, G., Merckx, R., van Wesemael, B., & Oost, K. V. (2017) · SOIL · doi:10.5194/soil-3-45-2017 · Cited by 109
Amplifying Progress toward Multiple Development Goals through Resource Recovery from Sanitation.
Trimmer, J., Cusick, R., & Guest, J. (2017) · Environmental Science and Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b02147 · Cited by 91
Resource recovery microbial fuel cells for urine-containing wastewater treatment without external energy consumption
Lu, S., Li, H., Tan, G., Wen, F., Flynn, M. T., & Zhu, X. (2019) · Chemical Engineering Journal · doi:10.1016/j.cej.2019.05.130 · Cited by 105
Nitrogen and the future of agriculture: 20 years on
Cassman, K. G., & Dobermann, A. (2021) · AMBIO · doi:10.1007/s13280-021-01526-w · Cited by 106
Potential and electric double-layer effect in electrocatalytic urea synthesis
Wu, Q., Dai, C., Meng, F., Jiao, Y., & Xu, Z. J. (2024) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-024-45522-6 · Cited by 110
Nitrogen pollution: a key building block for addressing climate change
Kanter, D. (2018) · Climatic Change · doi:10.1007/s10584-017-2126-6 · Cited by 108
Optimizing plant density and nitrogen application to manipulate tiller growth and increase grain yield and nitrogen-use efficiency in winter wheat
Yang, D., Cai, T., Luo, Y., & Wang, Z. (2019) · PeerJ · doi:10.7717/peerj.6484 · Cited by 113
Assessment of Water and Nitrogen Use Efficiencies Through UAV-Based Multispectral Phenotyping in Winter Wheat
Yang, M., Hassan, M. A., Xu, K., Zheng, C., Rasheed, A., Zhang, Y., Jin, X., Xia, X., Xiao, Y., & He, Z. (2020) · Frontiers in Plant Science · doi:10.3389/fpls.2020.00927 · Cited by 105
The Tandem Nitrate and CO 2 Reduction for Urea Electrosynthesis: Role of Surface N‐Intermediates in CO 2 Capture and Activation
Huang, X., Li, Y., Xie, S., Zhao, Q., Zhang, B., Zhang, Z., Sheng, H., & Zhao, J. (2024) · Angewandte Chemie International Edition · doi:10.1002/anie.202403980 · Cited by 103
Progress and Innovations in Hydrogels for Sustainable Agriculture
Ali, K., Asad, Z., Agbna, G. H. D., Saud, A., Khan, A., & Zaidi, S. M. J. (2024) · Agronomy · doi:10.3390/agronomy14122815 · Cited by 128
Decadal Shift in Nitrogen Inputs and Fluxes Across the Contiguous United States: 2002–2012
Sabo, R. D., Clark, C. M., Bash, J. O., Sobota, D. J., Cooter, E. J., Dobrowolski, J. P., Houlton, B. Z., Rea, A. W., Schwede, D., Morford, S. L., et al. (2019) · Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences · doi:10.1029/2019jg005110 · Cited by 102
Fertilizer nitrogen use efficiency and fates in maize cropping systems across China: Field 15N tracer studies
Quan, Z., Li, S., Zhang, X., Zhu, F., Li, P., Sheng, R., Chen, X., Zhang, L., He, J., Wei, W., et al. (2019) · Soil and Tillage Research · doi:10.1016/j.still.2019.104498 · Cited by 102
Border pollution reduction in China: The role of livestock environmental regulations
Pan, D., & Chen, H. (2021) · China Economic Review · doi:10.1016/j.chieco.2021.101681 · Cited by 96
Organic amendment regulates soil microbial biomass and activity in wheat-maize and wheat-soybean rotation systems
Song, D., Dai, X., Guo, T., Cui, J., Zhou, W., Huang, S., Shen, J., Liang, G., He, P., Wang, X., et al. (2022) · Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment · doi:10.1016/j.agee.2022.107974 · Cited by 102
Selective electrocatalytic synthesis of urea using entangled iron porphyrins in covalent organic frameworks
Gong, C., Peng, Y., Xu, M., Wei, X.-Y., Sheng, G., Liu, J.-L., Wu, X.-W., Han, X., Dai, F.-N., Dong, J.-Q., et al. (2025) · Nature Synthesis · doi:10.1038/s44160-025-00742-6 · Cited by 85
How sustainable is the nitrogen management in Brazil? A sustainability assessment using the Entropy Weight Method
Cunha‐Zeri, G., Guidolini, J. F., Branco, E. A., & Ometto, J. P. (2022) · Journal of Environmental Management · doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115330 · Cited by 101
Fabrication of robust and cost-efficient Hoffmann-type MOF sensors for room temperature ammonia detection
Wang, S., Fu, Y., Wang, T., Liu, W., Wang, J., Zhao, P., Ma, H., Chen, Y., Cheng, P., & Zhang, Z. (2023) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-023-42959-z · Cited by 104
The global potential for mitigating nitrous oxide emissions from croplands
Cui, X., Bo, Y., Adalibieke, W., Winiwarter, W., Zhang, X., Davidson, E. A., Sun, Z., Tian, H., Smith, P., & Zhou, F. (2024) · One Earth · doi:10.1016/j.oneear.2024.01.005 · Cited by 111
Response of Nitrogen Losses to Excessive Nitrogen Fertilizer Application in Intensive Greenhouse Vegetable Production
Zhao, H. F., Li, X., & Jiang, Y. (2019) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su11061513 · Cited by 101
Drivers of water and land use embodied in international soybean trade
Taherzadeh, O., & Caro, D. (2019) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.068 · Cited by 103
Combined application of biochar and nitrogen fertilizer improves rice yield, microbial activity and N-metabolism in a pot experiment
Ali, I., Ullah, S., He, L., Zhao, Q., Iqbal, A., Wei, S., Shah, T. M., Ali, N., Yan, B., Adnan, M., et al. (2020) · PeerJ · doi:10.7717/peerj.10311 · Cited by 105
Alternate wetting and drying irrigation combined with the proportion of polymer-coated urea and conventional urea rates increases grain yield, water and nitrogen use efficiencies in rice
Zhang, W., Yu, J., Xu, Y., Wang, Z., Liu, L., Zhang, H., Gu, J., Zhang, J., & Yang, J. (2021) · Field Crops Research · doi:10.1016/j.fcr.2021.108165 · Cited by 100
Regulated Dual Defects of Bridging Organic and Terminal Inorganic Ligands in Iron‐based Metal‐Organic Framework Nodes for Efficient Photocatalytic Ammonia Synthesis
Wang, X., Fan, G., Guo, S., Gao, R., Guo, Y. H., Han, C., Gao, Y., Zhang, J., Gu, X., & Wu, L. (2024) · Angewandte Chemie International Edition · doi:10.1002/anie.202404258 · Cited by 100
Crop production in Pakistan and low nitrogen use efficiencies
Shahzad, A. N., Qureshi, M. K., Wakeel, A., & Misselbrook, T. H. (2019) · Nature Sustainability · doi:10.1038/s41893-019-0429-5 · Cited by 99
Substitution of Mineral Fertilizer with Organic Fertilizer in Maize Systems: A Meta-Analysis of Reduced Nitrogen and Carbon Emissions
Wei, Z., Ying, H., Guo, X., Zhuang, M., Cui, Z., & Zhang, F. S. (2020) · Agronomy · doi:10.3390/agronomy10081149 · Cited by 102
Agricultural Fertilization Aggravates Air Pollution by Stimulating Soil Nitrous Acid Emissions at High Soil Moisture
Wang, Y., Fu, X., Wu, D., Wang, M., Lu, K., Mu, Y., Liu, Z., Zhang, Y., & Wang, T. (2021) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.1c04134 · Cited by 99
Declining spatial efficiency of global cropland nitrogen allocation
Mueller, N. D., Lassaletta, L., Runck, B. C., Billen, G., Garnier, J., & Gerber, J. S. (2017) · Global Biogeochemical Cycles · doi:10.1002/2016gb005515 · Cited by 92
Agricultural sustainable intensification improved nitrogen use efficiency and maintained high crop yield during 1980–2014 in Northern China
Zhang, X., Bol, R., Rahn, C. R., Xiao, G., Meng, F., & Wu, W. (2017) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.04.064 · Cited by 98
Nitrogen nutrition in plants: rapid progress and new challenges
Gojon, A. (2017) · Journal of Experimental Botany · doi:10.1093/jxb/erx171 · Cited by 98
An integrated specification for the nexus of water pollution and economic growth in China: Panel cointegration, long-run causality and environmental Kuznets curve
Zhang, C., Wang, Y., Song, X., Kubota, J., He, Y., Tojo, J., & Zhu, X. (2017) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.07.107 · Cited by 98
What has caused the use of fertilizers to skyrocket in China?
Chen, X., Ma, L., Ma, W., Wu, Z., Cui, Z., Hou, Y., & Zhang, F. S. (2017) · Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems · doi:10.1007/s10705-017-9895-1 · Cited by 98
Effects of agricultural activities coupled with karst structures on riverine biogeochemical cycles and environmental quality in the karst region
Li, S., Xu, S., Wang, T., Yue, F., Peng, T., Zhong, J., Wang, L., Chen, J.-A., Wang, S., Chen, X., et al. (2020) · Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment · doi:10.1016/j.agee.2020.107120 · Cited by 100
The impact of land transfer and farmers’ knowledge of farmland protection policy on pro-environmental agricultural practices: The case of straw return to fields in Ningxia, China
Cao, H., Zhu, X., Heijman, W., & Zhao, K. (2020) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123701 · Cited by 98
Evaluation of Intensive “4R” Strategies for Decreasing Nitrous Oxide Emissions and Nitrogen Surplus in Rainfed Corn
Venterea, R. T., Coulter, J. A., & Dolan, M. S. (2016) · Journal of Environmental Quality · doi:10.2134/jeq2016.01.0024 · Cited by 97
Health risk assessment of groundwater nitrate contamination: a case study of a typical karst hydrogeological unit in East China
Gao, S., Li, C., Jia, C., Zhang, H., Guan, Q., Wu, X., Wang, J., & Lv, M. (2020) · Environmental Science and Pollution Research · doi:10.1007/s11356-019-07075-w · Cited by 100
Digital transformation for a sustainable agriculture in the United States: Opportunities and challenges
Khanna, M., Atallah, S. S., Kar, S., Sharma, B. P., Wu, L., Yu, C., Chowdhary, G. V., Soman, C., & Guan, K. (2022) · Agricultural Economics · doi:10.1111/agec.12733 · Cited by 97
A global meta‐analysis of yield‐scaled N 2 O emissions and its mitigation efforts for maize, wheat, and rice
Yao, Z., Guo, H., Wang, Y., Zhan, Y., Zhang, T., Wang, R., Zheng, X., & Butterbach‐Bahl, K. (2024) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/gcb.17177 · Cited by 103
Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers alter the soil chemistry, production and quality of tea. A meta-analysis
Qiao, C., Xu, B., Han, Y., Wang, J., Wang, X., Liu, L., Liu, W., Wan, S., Tan, H., Liu, Y., et al. (2018) · Agronomy for Sustainable Development · doi:10.1007/s13593-017-0485-z · Cited by 96

Authors: Zhang, X., Davidson, E. A., Mauzerall, D. L., Searchinger, T. D., Dumas, P., & Shen, Y.
Affiliations: Princeton University (US)
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (US)
Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR)
Corresponding author: Zhang, Xin
Davidson, Eric A.
ORCID: Zhang, Xin
Davidson, Eric A.
Mauzerall, Denise L.
Searchinger, Timothy D.
Dumas, Patrice
Venue: Nature
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published: 2015-11-23
Volume: 528
Issue: 7580
Pages: 51-59
ISSN: 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
1476-4687
DOI: 10.1038/nature15743
OpenAlex: W2190546151
Cited by: 3,054
References: 89
Citations by year: 2026: 488 · 2025: 486 · 2024: 413 · 2023: 352 · 2022: 370 · 2021: 308 · 2020: 238 · 2019: 159 · 2018: 114 · 2017: 95 · 2016: 29
FWCI: 71.79
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
enpc.hal.science
Licence: other-oa
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations: Nature (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Agritrop (Cirad) (submittedVersion)
Topics: Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact
Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Agricultural Science and Fertilization
Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics
Keywords: sustainable development, food security, environmental degradation, climate change, agricultural development, nitrogen pollution, Sustainable Development Goals, socioeconomic factors, technological innovation, nitrogen management
MeSH terms: Agriculture, Conservation of Natural Resources, Ecology, Environmental Pollution, Fertilizers, Food Supply, Humans, Nitrogen, Crops, Agricultural, Internationality, Climate Change, Gross Domestic Product

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Managing nitrogen for sustainable development.

Abstract

Overview

Integrity signals

Verification

Claims the paper makes

Self-check

Citations

Cites

Cited by

Related

Metadata

Record

About these checks