Two virtual joint centers for nitrogen agronomy were established between the
UK and China to facilitate collaborative research aimed at improving nitrogen
use efficiency (NUE) in agricultural production systems and reducing losses of
reactive N to the environment. Major focus areas were improving fertilizer
NUE, use of livestock manures, soil health, and policy development and
knowledge exchange. Improvements to fertilizer NUE included attention to
application rate in the context of yield potential and economic considerations
and the potential of improved practices including enhanced efficiency
fertilizers, plastic film mulching and cropping design. Improved utilization of
livestock manures requires knowledge of the available nutrient content,
appropriate manure processing technologies and integrated nutrient
management practices. Soil carbon, acidification and biodiversity were
considered as important aspects of soil health. Both centers identified a range
of potential actions that could be taken to improve N management, and the
research conducted has highlighted the importance of developing a systems-
level approach to assessing improvement in the overall efficiency of N
management and avoiding unintended secondary effects from individual
interventions. Within this context, the management of fertilizer emissions and
livestock manure at the farm and regional scales appear to be particularly
important targets for mitigation