The role of soil health in crop productivity and environmental sustainability is often overlooked. Using a 0.5° × 0.5° global dataset, this study shows that soil health accounts for 12% of yield variation and 22% of nitrogen use efficiency variation. Enhancing global soil health could increase yields by 7.8 Mt and cut nitrogen surplus by 8.1 Mt by 2050.
- Jianming Xu
- Chenchen Ren
- Baojing Gu
