Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Yicheng Wang, Fulu Tao
Summary: This study aims to map potential regions for cover crops and estimate nitrogen nutrient supply and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potentials. Results show that 13.3% of current croplands in China can be planted with cover crops, providing nitrogen fertilizer and mitigating GHG emissions. Soil organic carbon sequestration is the dominant process in GHG mitigation.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zehui Liu, Harald E. Rieder, Christian Schmidt, Monika Mayer, Yixin Guo, Wilfried Winiwarter, Lin Zhang
Summary: Excessive reactive nitrogen (Nr) contributes significantly to PM2.5 air pollution in Europe, posing health challenges. This study identifies optimal Nr control strategies for Europe, considering emission estimations, air quality modeling, exposure-mortality modeling, Nr control experiments, and cost data. The results show that reducing Nr emissions would greatly reduce PM2.5 and premature deaths in Europe, with NH3 control being more cost-effective than NOx control.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yan Wang, Zhisheng Yao, Xunhua Zheng, Logapragasan Subramaniam, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl
Summary: This study quantified crop-specific nitric oxide (NO) emission factors (EF(d)s) at seasonal and annual scales by synthesizing measurements from field-based studies worldwide. The results showed that vegetables had the highest seasonal EF(d) compared to other crops, and rice had the lowest among cereals. Soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, pH, and fertilizer type were found to be the main factors influencing the variations in NO EF(d)s. The study provides important insights for estimating global NO emissions from croplands and highlights the significance of cash crop production as a source of atmospheric NO.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Binhui Chen, Chenchen Ren, Chen Wang, Jiakun Duan, Stefan Reis, Baojing Gu
Summary: Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is an important indicator for sustainable food production. Research shows that NUE in China is consistently lower than in developed countries. Understanding the causes of low NUE is crucial for improving nitrogen use. A study in China found that NUE ranged between 20% and 40% in most counties, with higher NUE in Northeastern China due to modern agriculture operations. Factors such as nitrogen input sources and crop types significantly affected NUE.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yufu Zhang, Hao Wu, Mengya Yao, Jia Zhou, Kaibin Wu, Minpeng Hu, Hong Shen, Dingjiang Chen
Summary: This study quantified nitrogen runoff loss rates from croplands in the Yangtze River Basin and identified key factors regulating these losses. Results showed that runoff loss rates increased from upstream to downstream regions, with factors such as runoff depth, soil N content, and fertilizer addition rate playing important roles in regulating nitrogen runoff loss. Models were effective in predicting nitrogen runoff loss rates and loads, with focus areas identified for reducing these losses.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xiaoying Zhan, Wulahati Adalibieke, Xiaoqing Cui, Wilfried Winiwarter, Stefan Reis, Lin Zhang, Zhaohai Bai, Qihui Wang, Weichen Huang, Feng Zhou
Summary: The study improved estimates of crop-specific NH3 emissions globally and highlighted the potential impact of improving fertilization schemes in reducing global cropland NH3 emissions by three-quarters. It also identified that a small proportion of global harvested areas, primarily in China, India, and Pakistan, have the potential to contribute to 64% of emissions reduction.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kailan Tian, Yu Zhang, Yuze Li, Xi Ming, Shangrong Jiang, Hongbo Duan, Cuihong Yang, Shouyang Wang
Summary: Regional trade agreements (RTAs) are widely used to promote international trade, but their environmental effects have not been well studied. This study evaluates the economic effects of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and estimates that it will lead to increased CO2 emissions. However, deeper trade liberalization can help mitigate the burdens.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lei Liu, Wen Xu, Zhang Wen, Pu Liu, Hang Xu, Sheng Liu, Xiankai Lu, Buqing Zhong, Yixin Guo, Xiao Lu, Yuanhong Zhao, Xiuying Zhang, Songhan Wang, Peter M. Vitousek, Xuejun Liu
Summary: Growing population and consumption increase demands on food production, leading to increased ammonia emissions from food systems and subsequent oceanic nitrogen deposition. This study developed a long-term oceanic nitrogen deposition dataset and evaluated the impact of ammonia emissions on nitrogen deposition patterns. It was found that oceanic ammonia-related nitrogen deposition has increased globally by 89% between 1970 and 2018, exceeding oxidized nitrogen deposition in coastal regions. Excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer corresponds to 15% of global oceanic ammonia-related nitrogen deposition. Policymakers and water quality managers should focus on reducing ammonia emissions from food production to achieve Sustainable Development Goals for coastal nitrogen pollution reduction.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rong Ma, Ke Li, Yixin Guo, Bo Zhang, Xueli Zhao, Soeren Linder, ChengHe Guan, Guoqian Chen, Yujie Gan, Jing Meng
Summary: Ammonia emissions from agricultural sources can have severe health impacts. The study reveals that around 25% of global agricultural NH3 emissions in 2012 were trade-related, causing 61 thousand PM2.5 related premature deaths, highlighting significant ammonia mitigation potential in international trade.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Garba Aliyu, Jiafa Luo, Hong J. Di, Deyan Liu, Junji Yuan, Zengming Chen, Tiehu He, Weixin Ding
Summary: The study found that mitigation measures such as the use of nitrification inhibitors or reducing nitrogen application rates in maize, rice, and wheat crops can significantly reduce N2O emissions while also increasing crop yield.
Article
Ecology
Kristine Karstens, Benjamin Leon Bodirsky, Jan Philipp Dietrich, Marta Dondini, Jens Heinke, Matthias Kuhnert, Christoph Mueller, Susanne Rolinski, Pete Smith, Isabelle Weindl, Hermann Lotze-Campen, Alexander Popp
Summary: This study reveals that anthropogenic land cover change and agricultural management have led to a significant loss of soil organic carbon (SOC). However, accounting for historical management decisions can reduce emissions and enhance SOC, particularly through residue returning. These findings suggest the potential of biomass retention as a promising negative emissions technique.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Xinyuan Huang, Vivek Srikrishnan, Jonathan Lamontagne, Klaus Keller, Wei Peng
Summary: Climate mitigation efforts can have positive impacts on air quality and health. However, the distribution of these health benefits across countries is uncertain. This study uses a comprehensive model to assess the country-specific health effects of a global carbon price under different future scenarios. The results show consistent reductions in air pollution and associated mortality risks for countries with high levels of pollution, but potential increases in mortality risks for less-polluted countries due to emissions from bioenergy use and land-use changes. Improving the representation of uncertainties, country-specific characteristics, and cross-sector interactions is crucial for better understanding the distributional outcomes of climate mitigation policies.
NATURE SUSTAINABILITY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Cristiana Bassani, Francesca Vichi, Giulio Esposito, Mauro Montagnoli, Marco Giusto, Antonietta Ianniello
Summary: A study in Italy evaluated air pollution changes in Rome and surrounding areas during the lockdown, showing significant reductions in NO2 levels, especially in urban areas. The research suggests that implementing lockdown measures resulted in an improvement in air quality, with NO2 declining sharply in both urban and rural sites.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Shuju Fang, Gufeng Li, Hongyu Shi, Junxiu Ye, Hongbin Wang, Xuemei Ding, Lijun Luo, Guizhen Li, Min Yang
Summary: A low-cost functionalization method was used to prepare an efficient adsorbent for ammonia nitrogen from diatomite. The optimized conditions included modification with H2SO4, NaCl, and calcination, resulting in excellent adsorption performance of the functionalized diatomite (DTCA-Na). The adsorption process of ammonia nitrogen followed pseudo-first-order kinetics and Langmuir isothermal model. The removal efficiency of ammonia nitrogen remained above 80% even after multiple adsorption-desorption experiments.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Editorial Material
Chemistry, Physical
Nathan L. Chang, Mohammad Dehghanimadvar, Renate Egan
Summary: In a recent issue of Nature, Helveston et al. estimated cost savings to users of photovoltaic modules arising from manufacturing concentration in China. However, concentration poses a supply chain risk, leading to plans for domestic production diversification. The question now is whether the resulting higher costs are worth it.
Article
Operations Research & Management Science
Hongtao Ren, Wenji Zhou, Marek Makowski, Shaohui Zhang, Yadong Yu, Tieju Ma
Summary: This study proposes a hybrid multi-criteria decision-support model for adopting energy efficiency technologies in the iron and steel industry. A real case study was conducted to evaluate the performance of 56 energy efficiency technologies across multiple criteria, and a balanced solution was provided.
ANNALS OF OPERATIONS RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Xiaoxi Wang, Meng Xu, Bin Lin, Benjamin Leon Bodirsky, Jiaqi Xuan, Jan Philipp Dietrich, Miodrag Stevanovic, Zhaohai Bai, Lin Ma, Shuqin Jin, Shenggen Fan, Hermann Lotze-Campen, Alexander Popp
Summary: This study uses the MAgPIE model to assess the prospects of China's fertilizer policies, suggesting measures to improve soil nitrogen uptake efficiency and remove fertilizer subsidies. The results show that these measures can reduce nitrogen fertilizer use and losses, mitigate nitrogen pollution, and have significant impacts on the environment and food security.
SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Binhui Chen, Chenchen Ren, Chen Wang, Jiakun Duan, Stefan Reis, Baojing Gu
Summary: Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is an important indicator for sustainable food production. Research shows that NUE in China is consistently lower than in developed countries. Understanding the causes of low NUE is crucial for improving nitrogen use. A study in China found that NUE ranged between 20% and 40% in most counties, with higher NUE in Northeastern China due to modern agriculture operations. Factors such as nitrogen input sources and crop types significantly affected NUE.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Marleen A. E. Vos, Jan den Ouden, Marcel Hoosbeek, Martin Valtera, Wim de Vries, Frank Sterck
Summary: The sustainability of tree harvest is questioned due to increased nutrient losses, which may reduce nutrient stocks in forest soils. This study assesses the forest nutrient balance and quantifies nutrient stocks and uptake rates in mature forest stands under different management scenarios.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Correction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Baojing Gu, Xiuming Zhang, Shu Kee Lam, Yingliang Yu, Hans J. M. van Grinsven, Shaohui Zhang, Xiaoxi Wang, Benjamin Leon Bodirsky, Sitong Wang, Jiakun Duan, Chenchen Ren, Lex Bouwman, Wim de Vries, Jianming Xu, Mark A. Sutton, Deli Chen
Article
Agronomy
Yuanling Zhang, Shu Kee Lam, Ping Li, Yuzheng Zong, Dongsheng Zhang, Xinrui Shi, Xingyu Hao, Jing Wang
Summary: Understanding the impacts of rising temperature and elevated [CO2] on different crop cultivars is crucial for adapting to climate change. Simulation and pot experiments were conducted to study the growth and yield of two wheat cultivars under elevated [CO2] and 2 degrees C warming. It was found that the early-maturing cultivar was better adapted to elevated [CO2] and rising temperature than the late-maturing one.
AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jinchi Dong, Bofeng Cai, Shaohui Zhang, Jinnan Wang, Hui Yue, Can Wang, Xianqiang Mao, Jianhui Cong, Fei Guo
Summary: In order to achieve its climate targets, China needs a clear decarbonization strategy to address its significant carbon emissions. This study utilizes a model to explore different decarbonization pathways and their cost-benefits under two mitigation scenarios in China. The results show that sector interactions and a more ambitious abatement strategy can have positive effects on reducing carbon emissions.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Yuying Guo, Enzai Du, Binghe Li, Nan Xia, Xinhui Wu, Wim de Vries
Summary: Rapid urbanization has led to changes in the spatial patterns of atmospheric trace element deposition, resulting in increased soil pollution in urban areas. It is important to control trace element emissions to ensure urban soil quality.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chenchen Ren, Xinyue Zhou, Chen Wang, Yaolin Guo, Yu Diao, Sisi Shen, Stefan Reis, Wanyue Li, Jianming Xu, Baojing Gu
Summary: The rapid demographic ageing in rural areas has negatively affected agriculture, resulting in a decrease in farmland size, agricultural productivity, and farmers' income. However, promoting new farming models can reverse these negative consequences by increasing farmland size, agricultural productivity, and farmers' income, while reducing fertilizer loss.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Johan Rockstroem, Joyeeta Gupta, Dahe Qin, Steven J. Lade, Jesse F. Abrams, Lauren S. Andersen, David I. Armstrong McKay, Xuemei Bai, Govindasamy Bala, Stuart E. Bunn, Daniel Ciobanu, Fabrice DeClerck, Kristie Ebi, Lauren Gifford, Christopher Gordon, Syezlin Hasan, Norichika Kanie, Timothy M. Lenton, Sina Loriani, Diana M. Liverman, Awaz Mohamed, Nebojsa Nakicenovic, David Obura, Daniel Ospina, Klaudia Prodani, Crelis Rammelt, Boris Sakschewski, Joeri Scholtens, Ben Stewart-Koster, Thejna Tharammal, Detlef van Vuuren, Peter H. Verburg, Ricarda Winkelmann, Caroline Zimm, Elena M. Bennett, Stefan Bringezu, Wendy Broadgate, Pamela A. Green, Lei Huang, Lisa Jacobson, Christopher Ndehedehe, Simona Pedde, Juan Rocha, Marten Scheffer, Lena Schulte-Uebbing, Wim de Vries, Cunde Xiao, Chi Xu, Xinwu Xu, Noelia Zafra-Calvo, Xin Zhang
Summary: The stability and resilience of the Earth system and human well-being are closely linked but often treated independently. This study proposes safe and just Earth system boundaries to maintain stability and minimize harm to humans from Earth system change. Findings show that justice considerations have a greater impact on setting boundaries than safety considerations.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Zhilong He, Zhuqing Xia, Ying Zhang, Xuejun Liu, Oene Oenema, Gerard H. Ros, Wim de Vries, Wen Xu, Yong Hou, Hongliang Wang, Fusuo Zhang
Summary: Increasing the use of manure nutrients and reducing chemical fertilizer input is a promising approach for achieving a circular economy and sustainable food systems. This study found that substituting a portion of chemical fertilizer with amended manure reduced ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions, while increasing nitrogen use efficiency.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Siwen Zhang, Qichao Zhu, Wim de Vries, Gerard H. Ros, Xiaohui Chen, Muhammad Atif Muneer, Fusuo Zhang, Liangquang Wu
Summary: Soil amendments, such as lime, biochar, industrial by-products, manure, and straw, can effectively alleviate soil acidification and improve crop productivity. However, the impact of these amendments on soil pH and crop yield has not been comprehensively evaluated while taking into account soil properties. Through a synthesis of 832 observations from 142 papers, this study found that some amendments significantly increased soil pH and crop yield. The most effective responses were observed in long-term applications (>6 years) on strongly acidic sandy soils with low cation exchange capacity and organic matter content. The addition of lime, manure, and straw seem most appropriate for soils with different initial pH ranges.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Shihui Zhang, Chi Zhang, Wenjia Cai, Yuqi Bai, Max Callaghan, Nan Chang, Bin Chen, Huiqi Chen, Liangliang Cheng, Hancheng Dai, Xin Dai, Weicheng Fan, Xiaoyi Fang, Tong Gao, Yang Geng, Dabo Guan, Yixin Hu, Junyi Hua, Cunrui Huang, Hong Huang, Jianbin Huang, Xiaomeng Huang, John S. Ji, Qiaolei Jiang, Xiaopeng Jiang, Gregor Kiesewetter, Tiantian Li, Lu Liang, Borong Lin, Hualiang Lin, Huan Liu, Qiyong Liu, Xiaobo Liu, Zhao Liu, Zhu Liu, Yufu Liu, Bo Lu, Chenxi Lu, Zhenyu Luo, Wei Ma, Zhifu Mi, Chao Ren, Marina Romanello, Jianxiang Shen, Jing Su, Yuze Sun, Xinlu Sun, Xu Tang, Maria Walawender, Can Wang, Qing Wang, Rui Wang, Laura Warnecke, Wangyu Wei, Sanmei Wen, Yang Xie, Hui Xiong, Bing Xu, Yu Yan, Xiu Yang, Fanghong Yao, Le Yu, Jiacan Yuan, Yiping Zeng, Jing Zhang, Lu Zhang, Rui Zhang, Shangchen Zhang, Shaohui Zhang, Mengzhen Zhao, Dashan Zheng, Hao Zhou, Jingbo Zhou, Ziqiao Zhou, Yong Luo, Peng Gong
Summary: China needs to take action to address the growing health risks from climate change and increasing carbon emissions. Health and climate change are closely linked, requiring a high prioritization of health in adaptation and mitigation efforts. The Lancet Countdown China report tracks progress on health and climate change in China and provides examples of feasible climate solutions.
LANCET PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Yu Lei, Zhicong Yin, Xi Lu, Qiang Zhang, Jicheng Gong, Bofeng Cai, Cilan Cai, Qimin Chai, Huopo Chen, Renjie Chen, Shi Chen, Wenhui Chen, Jing Cheng, Xiyuan Chi, Hancheng Dai, Xiangzhao Feng, Guannan Geng, Jianlin Hu, Shan Hu, Cunrui Huang, Tiantian Li, Wei Li, Xiaomei Li, Jun Liu, Xin Liu, Zhu Liu, Jinghui Ma, Yue Qin, Dan Tong, Xuhui Wang, Xuying Wang, Rui Wu, Qingyang Xiao, Yang Xie, Xiaolong Xu, Tao Xue, Haipeng Yu, Da Zhang, Ning Zhang, Shaohui Zhang, Shaojun Zhang, Xian Zhang, Xin Zhang, Zengkai Zhang, Bo Zheng, Yixuan Zheng, Jian Zhou, Tong Zhu, Jinnan Wang, Kebin He
Summary: China is currently facing the challenges of air pollution and climate change, and the government is actively promoting the synergy between the two. The Synergetic Roadmap project was launched in 2021 to track and analyze the progress of synergetic control in China, and the 2022 report focuses on the progress in 2021 and key actions in various sectors. China's efforts in reshaping energy, economic, and transportation structures have led to a slowdown in carbon emission growth, improved air quality, and increased health benefits in recent years.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ECOTECHNOLOGY
(2024)
