Meta‐analysis of yield and nitrous oxide outcomes for nitrogen management in agriculture

Improved nitrogen (N) use is key to future food security and environmental sustainability. While many regions still experience N shortages, agriculture is the leading global emitter of N₂ O due to losses exacerbated by N surpluses in other regions. In order to sustainably maintain or increase food production, farmers and their advisors need a comprehensive and actionable understanding of how nutrient management affects both yield and N₂ O emissions, particularly in tropical and subtropical agroecosystems. We performed a meta-analysis to determine the effect of N management and other factors on N₂ O emissions, plant N uptake, and yield. Our analysis demonstrates that performance indicators-partial N balance and partial factor productivity-predicted N₂ O emissions as well as or better than N rate. While we observed consistent production and environmental benefits with enhanced-efficiency fertilizers, we noted potential trade-offs between yield and N₂ O emissions for fertilizer placement. Furthermore, we observed confounding effects due to management dynamics that co-vary with nutrient application practices, thus challenging the interpretation of the effect of specific practices such as fertilization frequency. Therefore, rather than providing universally prescriptive management for N₂ O emission reduction, our evidence supports mitigation strategies based upon tailored nutrient management approaches that keep N balances within safe limits, so as to minimize N₂ O emissions while still achieving high crop yields. The limited evidence available suggests that these relationships hold for temperate, tropical, and subtropical regions, but given the potential for expansion of N use in crop production, further N₂ O data collection should be prioritized in under-represented regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa.