Advancing agricultural sustainability through improved management practices in China

Abstract Enhanced agricultural management practices hold the potential to drive agricultural sustainability1, 2, a facet that is rarely quantified at the grassroots level. In this study, we conduct an analysis of nitrogen use and loss in Chinese cropland, drawing from data collected from 2,238,550 sites in two national agricultural pollution source censuses spanning from 2007 to 2017. Our findings reveal a significant upswing of 10% in crop yields and an impressive 8% reduction in nitrogen pollution during this period. This positive shift can be attributed to the promotion and adoption of various agricultural management practices in China, including the combination of organic and chemical fertilizers, no-tillage farming, straw recycling, and deep-placement of fertilizer. These practices have collectively contributed to an 18% increase in nitrogen use efficiency within the country. Moreover, by fully embracing these advanced practices, we project that annual cropland pollution could experience a further reduction of up to 1.7 million tonnes of nitrogen without compromising crop yield. Importantly, the benefits of these measures, encompassing both environmental and human health advantages, are expected to consistently outweigh the implementation costs in the future, with total benefits reaching as high as US$15 billion.