Excessive ammonia (NH3) can result in visible foliar injury on vegetation and promote the formation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), thus it is urgently necessary to reduce NH3 to protect ecosystems, environmental quality and human health. However, we still lack effective strategies to achieve the dual objectives of protecting vegetation and meeting the PM2.5 air quality standard. Here, we used the Community Multiscale Air Quality model to evaluate the NH3 and PM2.5 concentrations and provided synergistic emission reduction strategies to meet both of the above targets in China. Results showed that NH3 concentrations in 2019 in most provinces were much higher than the critical level of 3 μg m-3 for vegetation protection. Nearly 50% of NH3 emissions need to be reduced to meet the critical level, especially in central and northeast China. Meanwhile, provinces in eastern and central China still cannot reach the air quality standard target of PM2.5 (35 μg m-3) even with further reduction of NH3 emissions on this basis. Alternatively, reducing other species of pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide, with a range of 0-60% will relieve the pressure of NH3 emission reduction in China to meet the air quality targets. The reduction of these pollutants in the industrial, transportation, and fugitive dust sectors should be prioritized for the synergistic management of NH3 and PM2.5 pollution.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess national trends in prescription volumes, drug expenditures, and the pharmacoeconomic rationality of small-molecule targeted inhibitors used for lymphoma treatment among outpatients in China between 2016 and 2022.MethodsOutpatient prescription data for patients diagnosed with lymphoma were obtained from the Hospital Prescription Analysis Cooperative Project database, which includes 77 hospitals distributed across six major regions of China. Annual trends in prescription volume and corresponding drug expenditures were examined. Pharmacoeconomic indicators associated with small-molecule targeted inhibitors were further analyzed to evaluate their cost-effectiveness and utilization patterns. Patient demographic characteristics, regional distribution, and categories of small-molecule targeted inhibitors were also analyzed.ResultsPrescription volumes and amounts for small-molecule targeted inhibitors in lymphoma treatment have increased annually. Furthermore, their use is supported by pharmacoeconomic evidence indicating rational and efficient medication utilization. There was a statistically significant increase in total prescriptions (P1 < 0.005) and overall medication expenditures (P2 < 0.005).ConclusionBetween 2016 and 2022, the prescription volume of small-molecule targeted inhibitors for lymphoma increased annually, indicating their expanding clinical use. Since 2020, despite continued growth in prescriptions, drug costs have risen at a slower rate than prescriptions. This reflects that medical insurance negotiation and centralized procurement policies have effectively reduced economic burden without limiting their access to these inhibitors. Pharmacoeconomic indicators also confirm that the use of these drugs has been both reasonable and efficient, allowing for increased drug utilization while reducing financial strain.

The livestock farm size influences management strategies, affecting nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and nitrogen losses. Using data from 360,000 farms across China in 2017, covering four major livestock types, the relationship between NUE, nitrogen losses, and farm size is examined. Results show that NUE increases and nitrogen loss intensity decreases as farm size grows for all livestock types, despite manure recycling ratios differ among livestock types, underscoring the need for tailored strategies to manage farm size. Managing farm size for only 16% of intensive farms nationwide could reduce nitrogen losses by 121 Gg (1 Gg=109 g), increase production by 21 Gg, and enhance manure recycling by 100 Gg. This strategy would yield a 24% reduction in nitrogen losses, a 9% increase in livestock production, and a 40% rise in manure recycling in smaller-size farming regions, highlighting the critical role of livestock farm size in achieving significant environmental and food security benefits.

Understanding how the grain trade redistributes environmental burdens across regions is critical for designing equitable food security and environmental stewardship policies. Using grain production, trade and environmental data from 1980 to 2020, we quantify environmental spillovers embedded in China's interprovincial grain trade, identify their socio-economic and climatic drivers, project future scenarios and estimate ecological compensation schemes. Interprovincial grain trade increased more than fivefold (from 22 to 128 million tonnes), and production shifted northwards, generating a 196% increase in virtual cropland displacement, a 415% rise in virtual water consumption and more than a 217% increase in embodied nitrogen losses and greenhouse gas emissions in China. Irrigation, mechanization and urbanization were the key drivers of these shifts, outweighing climatic influences. Continued reliance on northern grain exports could escalate environmental costs, and climate-induced yield declines may shrink trade networks. Addressing these inequitable regional ecological burdens may require south-to-north transfers of up to US$12.5 billion by 2060 under Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 2-4.5.

Rice sustains nearly half of the global population, yet its nitrogen (N) use efficiency remains low, undermining both food security and environmental integrity. Rice predominantly absorbs ammonium (NH4 +), which is readily nitrified and lost through irrigation and drainage, posing a persistent management challenge. Integrating 1756 paired field observations and global modelling, we show that using enhanced-efficiency fertilizers to maintain soil NH4 + relative to conventional practices increases rice yield by 6%-10% and N use efficiency by 18%-33%, while reducing ammonia (NH3) volatilization by 16%-50%, nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions by 25%-49%, and methane (CH4) emissions by 9%-30%. This N transformation-based management could reduce global N fertilizer inputs by 1.4 ± 0.06 million tonnes (Tg), generate an additional 72 ± 13 Tg of rice, and lower N2O, CH4, and NH3 emissions by 0.07 ± 0.02, 6.8 ± 2.0, and 0.6 ± 0.2 Tg, respectively, equivalent to an annual reduction of about 202 Tg CO2-eq. The total social benefit is valued at US$51 ± 5 billion, including US$29 ± 2 billion in added food value, achieved with only US$1.6 ± 0.6 billion in fertilizer investment and US$0.9 ± 0.1 billion in transaction costs. Aligning N transformation processes with crop N preference thus represents a pivotal strategy for sustaining rice productivity while minimizing environmental impacts.

Surface ozone is a persistent air pollutant in China, threatening crop production and public health, while existing controls on industry and transportation cannot effectively curb its increasing trends. Here, we show that mitigating nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions from agricultural machinery is as effective as cropland soil nitrogen management in reducing ozone pollution, but is largely overlooked. Using a new machinery emission accounting model and meta-analysis, we estimate that agricultural machinery and cropland soils emitted approximately 0.55 Tg N yr-1 of NOx in 2020. By 2050, in a clean scenario, these emissions are projected to be 0.51 (0.40-0.71) Tg N yr-1 of NOx, contributing >30% of total NOx emissions from both anthropogenic and natural sources during the crop-growing season. The transition of agricultural machinery toward renewable energy could reduce emissions by 0.18 Tg N yr-1, exceeding the mitigation potential from nitrogen management (0.11 Tg N yr-1). Under a stringent emission control scenario aligned with the carbon neutrality goal, these interventions reduce mitigable ozone (MO3; the fraction of surface ozone attributable to domestic anthropogenic emissions) by 15-30% and episode days (>61 ppbv) by 20-50% in eastern China, preventing ∼12.7 Mt of crop losses and ∼59,800 premature deaths annually, valued at $82.4 ± 17.5 billion. With an implementation cost estimated at $36.7 ± 20.8 billion, net societal benefits reach $45.8 ± 38.3 billion, underscoring agricultural NOx control as a feasible multibenefit strategy for air quality, food security, and public health.

Excess ammonia (NH3) emissions from human activities pose severe threats to global ecosystems and human health. Although urgent control of NH3 emissions is needed, a comprehensive quantification of mitigation strategies and their cost-effectiveness is lacking on a global scale. Here we employ a multi-model framework to evaluate 32 mitigation measures across 7 sectors in 185 countries. Our analysis reveals that strategic implementation of technological and non-technological (policy and behavioural) measures could reduce global NH3 emissions by up to 60

Grasslands play a crucial role in providing essential ecosystem services through biogeochemical processes. Improving grassland productivity and nitrogen use efficiency, reducing reactive nitrogen losses, and ensuring environmental sustainability represent major challenges, especially under the influence of global climate change. While previous studies have shown substantial effects of individual climate change factors on grassland nitrogen cycling, a comprehensive understanding of how grassland nitrogen cycling responds to multiple climate change remains limited. In this study, using data from 150 countries, we identified climate warming as the primary driver of increased nitrogen harvest, biological nitrogen fixation, and nitrogen surplus in global managed and undisturbed grasslands. These increases, with respective increments of 19.8, 8.8, and 28.2%, were determined by comparing scenarios with and without climate change from 1980 to 2020. Precipitation variability further amplifies these nitrogen increases, displaying notable spatial heterogeneity. Conversely, elevated atmospheric CO2 levels mitigate nitrogen surplus by enhancing plant nitrogen uptake. Under the SSP2-RCP4.5 scenario for the year 2050, nitrogen input, harvest, and surplus in global grasslands are projected to increase annually by 22.3, 7.2, and 15.1 million tonnes, respectively, compared to baseline scenarios. These climate-induced alterations in nitrogen budgets could incur additional costs up to USD $69 billion because of associated impacts on human health and ecosystem integrity. Our findings emphasize the urgent need for robust management strategies aimed at mitigating the negative effects of climate change on grassland nitrogen cycling, thereby supporting global sustainable development objectives.

Climate change and environmental degradation caused by greenhouse gases (GHGs) and reactive nitrogen (Nr) emissions are getting exacerbated globally. As a major emitter of both GHGs and Nr, China faces double pressure of GHGs and Nr mitigation to achieve carbon neutrality and environmental sustainability. This study performed the first integrated analysis of the potential and the synergies of GHG (CO2, CH4, and N2O) and atmospheric Nr pollutant (NOx and NH3) mitigation based on multiple models. Here we show that with an integrated policy implementation, China can achieve a 66% reduction of GHG and 68% of air N pollutants by 2050, which would bring society benefits of 2,500 billion USD, 5 times exceeding the implementation costs. Synergistic emission reductions led by industry would be in advantage until around 2030 with carbon peak achieved, while agriculture-led reductions show improved synergies in abatement potential and cost-effectiveness after peak carbon. This demonstrates that the control priority on GHG and atmospheric Nr pollution needs to be switched in the post-peak period to achieve future zero carbon and clean air in China.

Achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires balancing well-being with environmental protection, yet the role of nitrogen across these goals remains poorly understood. Here, we show how dietary nitrogen intake and nitrogen release to air and water are associated with SDG progress across 166 countries from 2000 to 2022. Higher per-capita nitrogen intake is positively associated with social and economic SDGs, whereas nitrogen release is negatively associated with environmental goals. Economic development is linked to improved SDG performance but also to greater dietary nitrogen demand and nitrogen losses, while warming is associated with pressure on food systems and nitrogen management. Nitrogen-related factors account for 38% of the variation in SDG scores, compared with 34% for climatic conditions and 28% for socio-economic factors. These findings identify nitrogen management as a cross-cutting component of sustainable development and support strategies that align food security, pollution control and climate adaptation across development contexts. Balanced nitrogen intake and lower nitrogen releases are linked to progress across the Sustainable Development Goals, helping align human well-being with environmental protection and highlighting the need for context-specific nitrogen management.

Human activities have significantly disrupted the global nitrogen cycle, positioning it as one of the most severely surpassed planetary boundaries. As the country with the largest nitrogen flux, China faces numerous environmental challenges due to excessive losses of reactive nitrogen (Nr) to both air and water from various sources. By quantifying the regional nitrogen boundaries for air and water at the county level, we found that the aggregated regional safe boundaries in China for the atmospheric release of Nr, nitrogen runoff to surface water and leaching to groundwater are 14.6, 5.2 and 4.8 million tonnes per year, respectively. In 2020, the cumulative Nr losses exceeded these boundaries by 54%, 262% and 258%, respectively. Implementing cross-system technical mitigation measures could potentially halve the total Nr losses to both air and water, yielding benefits that are ∼2.5 times greater than the net implementation costs. Despite most counties being capable of meeting the emission boundary for the atmospheric release of Nr after abatement, the boundaries for surface water and groundwater remain exceeded in over half of the counties. This highlights a significant asymmetry in nitrogen-pollution control between air and water, further necessitating socioeconomic transformations to effectively address the persistent issue of water pollution in China.

As the world's largest livestock producer, China faces pressing challenges in recycling manure to minimize resource waste and environmental degradation resulting from the vast amounts of manure generated. Understanding the drivering forces behind manure recycling is essential for advancing sustainable agriculture in China. This study estimated the manure recycling ratio (MRR), measured by nitrogen content, across 2853 Chinese counties using data from 390,000 farms representing four major livestock farming types in 2017. Northern Chinese counties demonstrated significantly higher MRRs, with values exceeding 50 %, compared to Southern regions, with values being lower than 30 %. Higher MRRs were linked to larger cropland size, higher urbanization levels, and a greater proportion of chicken farming. In contrast, MRRs declined in regions with higher temperatures, increased precipitation, higher manure production per livestock unit, a greater emphasis on pig farming, and an ageing rural population. Notably, natural factors such as temperature and precipitation predominantly influenced MRRs in both Southern and Northern China, whereas socioeconomic factors like cropland size and urbanization were more impactful in Eastern and Southwestern regions. These findings highlight the need for region-specific strategies that account for natural and socioeconomic conditions to enhance manure recycling practices across China.

Soil health affects both food production and environmental quality. However, quantifying its impact poses a substantial global challenge due to the scarcity of comprehensive soil health data and the complexity of disentangling its effects from other variables. Here we integrate high-resolution global data on soil, climate and farm management practices to assess the contribution of soil health to agricultural productivity. We show that soil health is responsible for approximately 12% and 22% of global variations in crop production and nitrogen use efficiency, respectively. While the influence of climate on crop yields is comparable to that of soil health, it is substantially overshadowed by the role of agricultural management, which accounts for roughly 70% of the global yield variation. In regions such as China, India and the central United States, the influence of soil health on crop yields and nitrogen use efficiency is less pronounced due to the dominant effects of farming practices, including the intensive use of fertilizers. Enhancing global soil health could increase crop yields by 7.8 Mt while reducing nitrogen surplus by 8.1 Mt worldwide by 2050. It is crucial to achieve global sustainable development through managing soil health beyond traditional agricultural practices and climate adaptation.

Atmospheric ammonia (NH3) has multiple impacts on the environment, climate change, and human health. China is the largest emitter of NH3 globally, with the dynamic inventory of NH3 emissions remaining uncertain. Here, we use the second national agricultural pollution source censuses, integrated satellite data, 15N isotope source apportionment, and multiple models to better understand those key features of NH3 emissions and its environmental impacts in China. Our results show that the total NH3 emissions were estimated to be 11.2 ± 1.1 million tonnes in 2020, with three emission peaks in April, June, and October, primarily driven by agricultural sources, which contributed 74% of the total emissions. Furthermore, employing a series of quantitative analyses, we estimated the contribution of NH3 emissions to ecosystem impacts. The NH3 emissions have contributed approximately 22% to secondary PM2.5 formation and a 16.6% increase in nitrogen loading of surface waters, while ammonium deposition led to a decrease in soil pH by 0.0032 units and an increase in the terrestrial carbon sink by 44.6 million tonnes in 2020. Reducing agricultural NH3 emissions in China would contribute to the mitigation of air and water pollution challenges, saving damage costs estimated at around 22 billion US dollars due to avoided human and ecosystem health impacts.

Crop diversity underpins the stability of food supply and the sustainability of agriculture, yet a limited understanding of its variability and underlying drivers constrains effective management. Drawing on data from 211 countries over six decades (1961-2020), we show that global crop diversity has generally increased, although one-third of countries experienced declines, and crop evenness decreased in nearly half of the countries. Differences across nations are primarily shaped by farm size, multiple cropping intensity, farmers' crop income, and crop consumption patterns. Farm size emerges as the dominant factor, reducing global crop diversity by approximately 4%-8% annually from 1961 to 2020 and amplifying global inequalities in crop diversity distribution. Projections indicate a further 3%-10% decline by 2050 relative to 2020 levels. However, this trajectory can be reversed, with effective farm size management yielding a 6%-17% increase in global crop diversity while narrowing inter-country disparities. Such progress is critical to strengthen agricultural stability and advance multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals, including zero hunger, reduced inequality, and responsible consumption and production.

The digital economy has become one of the most important driving forces for the revolution of global economics. It is reshaping production, finance, consumption, and public services. In the past 20 years, China’s rapid digitalization process – from broadband expansion, the utilization of 5G technology, e-commerce, and the development of digital finance – has offered several new opportunities for increasing income and expansion of the market. This article discusses the twin impact of the development of the digital economy on narrowing or expanding the income gap between city and rural areas. Rural e-commerce, mobile finance, and digital public services both significantly increase the family income and offer new opportunities for start-up businesses and human capital. However, some people still have several problems, such as a lack of Internet connection, platforms most focused on city areas, the technology revolution toward specific skills, and the gap in infrastructure between areas. This article also uses several real pieces of evidence that include several provinces in China. The research conclusion has an important insight for developing countries like China and others on the way of digitalization.

Carbon emissions caused by passenger cars in cities are essentially responsible for severe climate change and serious environmental problems. Exploring carbon emissions from passenger cars helps to control urban pollution and achieve urban sustainability. However, it is a challenging task to foresee the spatio-temporal distribution of carbon emission from passenger cars, as the following technical issues remain. i) Vehicle carbon emissions contain complex spatial interactions and temporal dynamics. How to collaboratively integrate such spatial-temporal correlations for carbon emission prediction is not yet resolved. ii) Given the mobility of passenger cars, the hidden dependencies inherent in traffic density are not properly addressed in predicting carbon emissions from passenger cars. To tackle these issues, we propose a Collaborative Spatial-temporal Network (CSTNet) for implementing carbon emissions prediction by using passenger car trajectory data. Within the proposed method, we devote to extract collaborative properties that stem from a multi-view graph structure together with parallel input of carbon emission and traffic density. Then, we design a spatial-temporal convolutional block for both carbon emission and traffic density, which constitutes of temporal gate convolution, spatial convolution and temporal attention mechanism. Following that, an interaction layer between carbon emission and traffic density is proposed to handle their internal dependencies, and further model spatial relationships between the features. Besides, we identify several global factors and embed them for final prediction with a collaborative fusion. Experimental results on the real-world passenger car trajectory dataset demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the baselines with a roughly 7%-11% improvement.