Measuring the Sustainability of Nitrogen Fertilization in EU Agriculture: A New Index-Based Assessment in the Context of Sustainable Intensification
2025
Magdalena Szymańska | Piotr Sulewski | Adam Wąs | Tomasz Sosulski
This study comprehensively evaluated nitrogen (N) management in 27 European countries from 1990 to 2021, utilizing the FAO and LUCAS databases. The EU countries were categorized into four groups based on their agricultural production intensities: low (L), medium&ndash:low (ML), medium&ndash:high (MH), and high (H). Additionally, a new Sustainable Nitrogen Management Indicator (SNMI) has been introduced to measure the sustainability of agricultural production. The analyses reveal significant variation in nitrogen fertilization intensity among EU countries, which correlates with differences in yield levels. Generally, higher fertilization leads to higher nutrient loss: however, the nitrogen losses per unit of yield show only minor differences between high- and low-intensity countries. From 1990 to 2021, a general improvement was observed in nitrogen management across all groups, as evidenced by a significant decline in the SNMI, indicating that agricultural production has become more sustainable. Notably, low-intensity countries showed the most significant improvement, with increased nitrogen input per hectare since the 1990s, demonstrating that moderate fertilization can enhance N use efficiency. In contrast, high-intensity countries saw decreased nitrogen inputs but still improved SNMI. These trends support the idea of sustainable intensification. The multidimensional SNMI comprehensively assesses eco-efficiency by highlighting environmental threats and production benefits. This paper demonstrates that SNMI is robust and easy to calculate using available datasets, and it can be implemented to assess nitrogen management efficiency at various scales.
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