title: Managing nitrogen for sustainable development.
abstract: Improvements in nitrogen use efficiency in crop production are critical for addressing the triple challenges of food security, environmental degradation and climate change. Such improvements are conditional not only on technological innovation, but also on socio-economic factors that are at present poorly understood. Here we examine historical patterns of agricultural nitrogen-use efficiency and find a broad range of national approaches to agricultural development and related pollution. We analyse examples of nitrogen use and propose targets, by geographic region and crop type, to meet the 2050 global food demand projected by the Food and Agriculture Organization while also meeting the Sustainable Development Goals pertaining to agriculture recently adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Furthermore, we discuss socio-economic policies and technological innovations that may help achieve them.
authors.affiliation: Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.|Princeton Environmental Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Frostburg, Maryland 21532, USA.
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.affiliation: Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.|Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.
authors.forename: Denise L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Mauzerall
authors.affiliation: Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Searchinger
authors.affiliation: Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), 75116, Paris, France.|Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Developpement (CIRED), 94736 Nogent-sur-Marne, France.
authors.forename: Patrice
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dumas
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D057231:Climate Change; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000639:trends; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000191:economics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000600:supply & distribution; D004463:Ecology; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005308:Fertilizers / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000600:supply & distribution; D005523:Food Supply; D059066:Gross Domestic Product; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D009584:Nitrogen