Professor He Ping from and his research team at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, have made a significant breakthrough in sustainable potato production. Their study, "Integrating Nutrient Balance, Environmental Footprints, and Nutrient Optimization Strategies for Sustainable Potato Production System in China," has been published in the journal Resources, Conservation & Recycling.

As China's fourth-largest food crop, potatoes play a crucial role in national food security. However, China accounts for 26% of the global potato planting area and 50 percent of nutrient input, yet only produces 22 percent of the yield, with per-unit yield levels being one-third to one-half of those in Europe and America. High nutrient input intensity leads to excessive greenhouse gas (GHG) and reactive nitrogen (Nr) emissions from farmland, severely hindering China's green sustainable agricultural development and the achievement of carbon neutrality goals. The research team constructed a dataset of potato production factors in China from 2011 to 2021 to explore the carbon and nitrogen emission reduction potential based on the Potato Nutrient Expert System's optimized fertilization strategies.

The study revealed issues of excessive nitrogen and phosphorus input and insufficient potassium input in China's potato production. From 2011 to 2021, nutrient input and output per unit area showed an increasing trend. Nitrogen input increased from 202 kg ha^-1 to 244 kg ha^-1, phosphorus input rose from 135 kg ha^-1 to 198 kg ha^-1, while potassium input remained relatively stable. By 2021, the national nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), phosphorus use efficiency (PUE), and potassium use efficiency (KUE) had decreased by 7 percent, 23 percent, and 36 percent, respectively, compared to 2011.

The carbon and nitrogen emissions from potato production in China have risen rapidly. Between 2011 and 2021, the national average greenhouse gas (GHG) and reactive nitrogen (Nr) emissions per unit area increased by 83 percent and 21 percent respectively. The increase in nutrient input is the main driving factor for these emissions, with GHG emissions from fertilizer production and transportation accounting for 53 percent-67 percent of the total. Nitrogen leaching (87.0%-88.5%) is the primary form of reactive nitrogen loss, followed by ammonia volatilization (5-7 percent). The total GHG and Nr emissions increased by 24 percent and 5 percent respectively, with the southwest region accounting for over 50 percent of the emissions.

By optimizing fertilization using the Potato Nutrient Expert System, nitrogen and phosphorus inputs were reduced by 34 percent and 75 percent respectively, leading to a total nutrient reduction of 996,000 tons. This resulted in reductions of GHG and Nr emissions by 34 percent and 51 percent respectively. The model predicts that by 2060, through nutrient optimization with the NE system, organic substitution, and the application of enhanced efficiency fertilizers, 675,000 to 853,000 tons of nutrient resources could be saved, and CO2 emissions could be reduced by 2.1 to 5.1 million tons, with Nr emissions reduced by 40,000 to 156,000 tons. This provides a scientific basis for decision-making to support sustainable regional agricultural development and achieve agricultural carbon neutrality.

This research was conducted by Dr. Xie Hanyou (first author) and Researcher He Ping (corresponding author) in collaboration with the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and other institutions. It was supported by the National Major Science and Technology Project on Smart Fertilization (05), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32272822), and the National Potato Industry System (CARS-09-P31).

Original article link:

 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2025.108399