Nitrogen 2.0: The next generation of nitrogen management in food production systems

Authors: ALMARAZ, MAYA - Yale University; DAVIDSON, ERIC - University Of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES); Spiegal, Sheri; ZHANG, XIN - University Of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES); BROOKE, CHARLES - California State University; ANDERSON, KARL - National Agricultural Research Foundation (NAGREF); Buckler Iv, Edward

Submitted to: American Geophysical Union
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/2024
Publication Date: 12/13/2024
Citation: Almaraz, M., Davidson, E.A., Spiegal, S.A., Zhang, X., Brooke, C., Anderson, K., Buckler Iv, E.S. 2024. Nitrogen 2.0: The next generation of nitrogen management in food production systems. American Geophysical Union. Abstract.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer provided a tremendous boon for human nutrition and health, but only about 50% of the N added to croplands is recovered in harvested crop products, most of which is fed to livestock, and only about 16% ends up in crop and animal products for human consumption. These inefficiencies have resulted in N losses to water and air, leading to unsustainable environmental and human health impacts, including climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, drinking water contamination, eutrophication, and respiratory illnesses. We envision a transformation of the current, mostly linear and “leaky”, system of N use in agriculture (deemed Nitrogen1.0) to one that is more circular, targeted, and efficient – Nitrogen2.0. The new system capitalizes on three pillars of innovation: 1) Animal feed: Efficiency can be gained by “skipping” a trophic level providing N directly to animals as feed additives rather than relying on fertilized crops for crude protein. Livestock will still need crop-based feed, but supplemental amino acids, urea, nitrate, microbial biomass, N-enriched silage, and aquatic plants that remove N from croplands can replace much of the crude protein. With less demand for N-rich crops as animal feed, spared cropland could grow crops for human consumption or biofuels or be converted to conservation land. 2) Crop breeding: Corn for biofuel can be bred with lower grain-N, and thus less fertilizer demand. Within-cropland, N recycling can be improved through crop breeding to mimic perennial systems, such as cold tolerance for longer growing seasons and recycling of N to roots in the autumn. 3) Manureshed management: Improvements in manure capture and management through technologies that recover and more efficiently re-use manure-N can further decrease demand for N fertilizers, increase circularity of nutrient use, and reduce N pollution. Re-imagining crop and livestock systems through technology and management innovations could cut N losses to air and water by half while maintaining the productivity needed for nutrition and food security. Increased efficiency also reduces costs and improves profits. Research on animal feed, crop breeding, and manureshed management is underway, but must be accelerated and linked in an interdisciplinary systems approach.