Global Land Use Change Impacts on Soil Nitrogen Availability and Environmental Losses

Anthropogenic activities, particularly land use change and management practices, alter the global nitrogen (N) cycle. As a central part of the global N cycle, soil N supply from net N mineralization (NNM) and net nitrification (NN) contributes to over 50% of crop N uptake. However, how global land use changes impact soil N supply and potential N loss remains elusive. By compiling a global data set of 1,782 paired observations from 185 publications, we show that land use conversion from natural to managed ecosystems significantly reduced NNM by 7.5% (-11.5, -2.8%) and increased NN by 150% (86, 194%), indicating decreasing N availability while increasing potential N loss through denitrification and nitrate leaching. In contrast, reversing managed to natural ecosystems significantly increased NNM by 20% (9.7, 25.4%) and decreased NN by 89% (-125, -46%), indicating increasing N availability while decreasing potential N loss. Structural equation modeling revealed that land use change induced changes in soil properties, including organic matter content, bulk density, microbial biomass and pH, and anthropogenic activities, including application of ammonium-based fertilizers and manure, were the most important factors regulating NNM and NN. The land use change effect was the strongest in tropical and subtropical regions, where NNM was negatively affected and NN positively affected by land use change. Our findings indicate that increasing soil organic matter content and enhancing soil structural development post land use change can boost soil N supply and reduce the risk for N loss.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Environmental Science & Technology
Published
2025-08-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c03285
Citations
3
Primary Topic
Crop Yield and Soil Fertility
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
5.71
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Global Land Use Change Impacts on Soil Nitrogen Availability and Environmental Losses

Nyumah Fallah, Meiqi Chen, Miaomiao Cao, Yves Uwiragiye et al.
3 citations
Environmental Science & Technology
Crop Yield and Soil Fertility
5.71
article

Global Land Use Change Impacts on Soil Nitrogen Availability and Environmental Losses

Nyumah Fallah, Meiqi Chen, Miaomiao Cao, Yves Uwiragiye, Yuanyuan Huang, Scott X. Chang, Yi Cheng, Jing Wang, Christoph Müller, Minggang Xu, Yuanyuan Huang, Zucong Cai
article en
3 citations

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities, particularly land use change and management practices, alter the global nitrogen (N) cycle. As a central part of the global N cycle, soil N supply from net N mineralization (NNM) and net nitrification (NN) contributes to over 50% of crop N uptake. However, how global land use changes impact soil N supply and potential N loss remains elusive. By compiling a global data set of 1,782 paired observations from 185 publications, we show that land use conversion from natural to managed ecosystems significantly reduced NNM by 7.5% (-11.5, -2.8%) and increased NN by 150% (86, 194%), indicating decreasing N availability while increasing potential N loss through denitrification and nitrate leaching. In contrast, reversing managed to natural ecosystems significantly increased NNM by 20% (9.7, 25.4%) and decreased NN by 89% (-125, -46%), indicating increasing N availability while decreasing potential N loss. Structural equation modeling revealed that land use change induced changes in soil properties, including organic matter content, bulk density, microbial biomass and pH, and anthropogenic activities, including application of ammonium-based fertilizers and manure, were the most important factors regulating NNM and NN. The land use change effect was the strongest in tropical and subtropical regions, where NNM was negatively affected and NN positively affected by land use change. Our findings indicate that increasing soil organic matter content and enhancing soil structural development post land use change can boost soil N supply and reduce the risk for N loss.

Environmental Science & TechnologyVol. 59(33)
University College Dublin (IE), Shanxi Agricultural University (CN), Nanjing Normal University (CN), University of Alberta (CA), Nanjing Forestry University (CN), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen (DE), German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (DE), Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (CN), Soil and Fertilizer Institute of Hunan Province (CN), Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning (CN), NSW Forestry Corporation (AU), Renewable Energy Systems (United States) (US), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN), Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application (CN), The Fertilizer Institute (US), Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (CN), Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN), Leipzig University (DE)
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Crop Yield and Soil Fertility
5.71
DOISourceOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.