Trends in an Environmental Nitrogen Management Index across Europe reveal progress since 1980s but also required considerable improvements

Trends in an Environmental Nitrogen Management Index across Europe reveal progress since 1980s but also required considerable improvements | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Trends in an Environmental Nitrogen Management Index across Europe reveal progress since 1980s but also required considerable improvements Masooma Batool, Shekhar Sharan Goyal, Fanny J. Sarrazin, Wim de Vries, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8968832/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Nitrogen (N) inefficiency threatens both environmental sustainability and food production in European agriculture, with many regions facing high levels of N pollution. Addressing the dual challenge of sustaining productivity while reducing environmental harm requires an integrated, spatially explicit indicator. We present the Environmental Nitrogen Management Index (ENMI) — a threshold-based, composite indicator that captures agricultural productivity (N yield relative to regional target yield) and environmental pressure (N surplus relative to regional safe N surplus). ENMI ranges from 0 (worst) to 1 (sustainable: no adverse impacts at target yield). Applied across EU sub-national regions from the 1960s to 2010s, ENMI rose from 0.07 to 0.21, with disparities from 0.76 in Switzerland to below 0.1 in parts of Eastern Europe. A 2030 scenario analysis shows that ambitious N input cuts improve environmental outcomes but reduce yields. ENMI offers a transparent basis to assess sustainability progress and guide policy interventions on N management. Nitrogen pollution agricultural sustainability regional environmental boundaries Europe Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files supplementary.pdf Supplementary material for: Trends in an Environmental Nitrogen Management Index across Europe reveal progress since 1980s but also required considerable improvements Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8968832","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":596992320,"identity":"406113dc-941d-46dc-b535-445d99c6720e","order_by":0,"name":"Masooma Batool","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA5klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDADAzBZYMPA3sDAIEGkFmYQmcbAc4BELYcJa9FtP/7wwcccOwZz9vMHH3wwOJ/Yw3+A8cYHPFrMzuQYG87clsxg2ZPMbDjD4HZiD8MBZssZ+LQcyGGT5t3GzGBwIJlNmgeoZT9jA5CBT8v558+AWuoZDM4/Bmk5l9jDzMAm/QeflhsJZkAthxkMboBtOZDYwwbUgs/7ZjfegPxynMdyxmNjoF+SjXt4GJste/A6LB0YYtuq5cz5Ex8++FBhJ9vDf/jgjR/4rIECZP8yNhChYRSMglEwCkYBPgAAl9tJ5xtd/hMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1385-2512","institution":"UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Masooma","middleName":"","lastName":"Batool","suffix":""},{"id":596992321,"identity":"54a14ef7-9e26-4ed4-a3ab-fe3a6d978dec","order_by":1,"name":"Shekhar Sharan Goyal","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6979-3975","institution":"UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shekhar","middleName":"Sharan","lastName":"Goyal","suffix":""},{"id":596992322,"identity":"8f2a3da5-5fe9-45c8-bf99-ade3260303b6","order_by":2,"name":"Fanny J. Sarrazin","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9928-9566","institution":"Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UR HYCAR, Antony, France","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fanny","middleName":"J.","lastName":"Sarrazin","suffix":""},{"id":596992323,"identity":"50c60150-99de-4266-95e1-61f4df2abf6d","order_by":3,"name":"Wim de Vries","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9974-0612","institution":"Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wim","middleName":"","lastName":"de Vries","suffix":""},{"id":596992324,"identity":"d37bbf13-396e-40a6-ab1e-7d8ae4df2d01","order_by":4,"name":"Gerard H. Ros","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6062-9770","institution":"Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gerard","middleName":"H.","lastName":"Ros","suffix":""},{"id":596992325,"identity":"3c0d2601-9d1e-48c3-a748-84511dbf382a","order_by":5,"name":"Rohini Kumar","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA0UlEQVRIie3OMQrCMBSA4VcC7RJwjSCe4UlAESq9SqFglxYFwSPEpToXPIYXqHQtHV2yOHUudHHoYCqCW4ybQ75ACCE/LwCW9ZcoFIBqDVqYqj38IXFy4GbJ4JUQapIsDsdrud0Cx1vZdCuBAXhRoU0mVR2WOcIc5ZqfU4EEaKMfw1iCJUXwUYacpKJ3Qd2YJnFHlgIpsE1rlKiPJZw4Apmaoi2A0WpIGB/LZOdkNaJLmy8f8zLe0d6fnWR8gcceg5EX3fVj3uXn6Jq8tyzLsvSeDcM6r6g4v+cAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4396-2037","institution":"UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rohini","middleName":"","lastName":"Kumar","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-25 14:27:02","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8968832/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8968832/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":103507731,"identity":"9b1b7c70-19ed-4f94-95b3-75e98d392d19","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-26 13:44:09","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":7556441,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8968832/v1_covered_12d831f6-dd2b-4a1b-a0a3-625cb13d68de.pdf"},{"id":103463583,"identity":"2616e848-cba7-44f5-abac-f33e1238292d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-26 03:34:15","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":19740184,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSupplementary material for: Trends in an Environmental Nitrogen Management Index across Europe reveal progress since 1980s but also required considerable improvements\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"supplementary.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8968832/v1/ceb6dafe371ef768571def23.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eTrends in an Environmental Nitrogen Management Index across Europe reveal progress since 1980s but also required considerable improvements\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Nitrogen pollution, agricultural sustainability, regional environmental boundaries, Europe","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8968832/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8968832/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eNitrogen (N) inefficiency threatens both environmental sustainability and food production in European agriculture, with many regions facing high levels of N pollution. Addressing the dual challenge of sustaining productivity while reducing environmental harm requires an integrated, spatially explicit indicator. We present the Environmental Nitrogen Management Index (ENMI) — a threshold-based, composite indicator that captures agricultural productivity (N yield relative to regional target yield) and environmental pressure (N surplus relative to regional safe N surplus). ENMI ranges from 0 (worst) to 1 (sustainable: no adverse impacts at target yield). Applied across EU sub-national regions from the 1960s to 2010s, ENMI rose from 0.07 to 0.21, with disparities from 0.76 in Switzerland to below 0.1 in parts of Eastern Europe. A 2030 scenario analysis shows that ambitious N input cuts improve environmental outcomes but reduce yields. ENMI offers a transparent basis to assess sustainability progress and guide policy interventions on N management.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Trends in an Environmental Nitrogen Management Index across Europe reveal progress since 1980s but also required considerable improvements","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-26 03:34:10","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8968832/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"5b577f90-aecc-4d60-9594-752a48e223d0","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 26th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-26T03:34:10+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-26 03:34:10","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8968832","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8968832","identity":"rs-8968832","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}