Table 1 Summary of nitrogen (N) inputs, outputs, balances and N use efficiencies (NUE) for wheat, maize and sunflower under five nutrient management projections by 2030 alongside cumulative N balances over 2024–2030 for business-as-usual (BaU, S-0) and extended war disruption (S-w) scenarios, as well as scenarios for emission reductions through manure-enriched precision fertilization (S-1), enhanced-efficiency fertilizers (S-2) and legume-based diversification (S-3), as compared with the BaU (S-0) scenario

From: Nutrient asymmetry challenges the sustainability of Ukrainian agriculture

Crop

Scenario

N input, kg N ha−1 yr−1

N output, kg N ha−1 yr−1

N balance, kg N ha−1 yr−1

N surplus/deficit, %

NUE, %

Cumulative balance by 2030, Mt N

Emission reduction, %

Total

Total org.

Crop-available

Total

Crop-available

Total

Crop-available

Total

Crop-available

NH3

N2O

NO

Org.

Synth.

BNF (legumes)

Total

Wheat

S-0

136.7

2.2

0.9

122.3

-

135.4

93.9

42.8

41.5

31.3

30.6

68.7

69.4

2.1

0

0

0

S-1

123.0

33.0

19.8

77.0

-

109.8

93.9

29.1

15.9

23.7

14.5

76.3

85.5

-

49

13

n/a

S-2

110.7

33.0

19.8

64.7

-

97.5

93.9

16.8

3.6

15.2

3.7

84.8

96.3

-

77

48

60

S-3

109.0

33.0

19.8

48.1

~15

95.9

93.9

15.2

2.0

13.9

2.5

86.1

97.9

-

≥77

≥48

≥60

S-w

66.9

1.5

0.9

55.3

-

66.3

93.9

-27.0

-27.6

-40.4

-41.7

140

142

-0.9

-

-

-

Maize

S-0

136.4

5.3

3.2

118.9

-

134.3

94.5

41.9

39.8

30.7

29.6

69.3

70.4

2.0

0

0

0

S-1

122.7

32.1

19.3

74.9

-

109.9

94.5

28.2

15.4

23.0

14.0

77.0

86.0

-

49

13

n/a

S-2

110.4

32.1

19.3

62.6

-

97.6

94.5

15.9

3.1

14.4

3.1

85.6

96.9

-

77

48

60

S-3

108.8

32.1

19.3

46.1

~15

96.0

94.5

14.3

1.5

13.2

1.9

86.8

98.4

-

≥77

≥48

≥60

S-w

90.2

3.0

1.8

75.4

-

89.0

96.0

-5.8

-7.0

-6.4

-7.9

106

108

-0.2

-

-

-

Sunflower

S-0

75.4

2.7

1.6

60.5

-

74.3

63.0

12.4

11.3

16.4

15.2

83.6

84.8

0.5

0

0

0

S-1

75.4

16.3

9.8

38.1

-

68.9

63.0

12.4

5.9

16.4

8.5

83.6

91.5

-

48

13

n/a

S-2

71.6

16.3

9.8

34.3

-

65.1

63.0

8.6

2.1

12.0

3.2

88.0

96.8

-

77

48

60

S-3

70.9

16.3

9.8

23.6

~10

64.4

63.0

7.9

1.4

11.1

2.5

88.9

97.9

-

≥77

≥48

≥60

S-w

45.8

1.5

0.9

32.6

-

45.2

63.0

-17.2

-17.8

-37.6

-39.3

138

139

-0.6

-

-

-

  1. ‘Total N input’ includes synthetic N fertilizer, organic (manure) N fertilizer, atmospheric N deposition, and N fixation (see Methods). ‘Org.’ represents manure-N; ‘Synth.’ represents synthetic N fertilizer; BNF (legumes)’ denotes the average annual input from biological N fixation by legumes in a four-year crop rotation, where legumes are grown in one of the years preceding cereals, with sunflower often serving as the final crop in the rotation; ‘Crop available’ refers to N available for crop uptake within year of application (and previous-year input from manure-N; see Supplementary Note 2.8 for details). ‘Mt N’ represents million tonnes of N. Full descriptions of the scenarios are given in Supplementary Note 2.8. Values of key categories/parameters are highlighted in bold to facilitate reader recognition.
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