Rising importance of agricultural nitrogen oxide emissions in China’s future PM2.5 pollution mitigation
Abstract Controlling ammonia (NH3) emissions through agricultural management has been recognized as effectively mitigating fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in eastern China. However, agricultural nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions are often overlooked. Here we estimate agricultural NOx emission...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-03-01
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| Series: | npj Climate and Atmospheric Science |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-00976-3 |
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| author | Yuanhong Zhao Zhanpeng Su Youfan Chen Suyi Hou Xiao Lu Bo Zheng Lei Liu Yuepeng Pan Wen Xu Xuejun Liu Lin Zhang |
| author_facet | Yuanhong Zhao Zhanpeng Su Youfan Chen Suyi Hou Xiao Lu Bo Zheng Lei Liu Yuepeng Pan Wen Xu Xuejun Liu Lin Zhang |
| author_sort | Yuanhong Zhao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Controlling ammonia (NH3) emissions through agricultural management has been recognized as effectively mitigating fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in eastern China. However, agricultural nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions are often overlooked. Here we estimate agricultural NOx emissions and design a set of atmospheric chemistry model experiments to assess their role in present and future PM2.5 pollution mitigation in eastern China. The results show that when fossil fuel emissions decrease to 2060 levels, the contribution of agricultural NOx emissions to secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA) concentrations during the crop-growing season will reach 40% over intensive agricultural areas such as North China Plain, and the efficiency of reducing agricultural NOx emissions in mitigating SIAs will become comparable to reducing NH3 emissions. By estimating the optimal reactive nitrogen (Nr) emission control pathway, we find that when including agricultural NOx emissions, the strategies will shift in favor of controlling agricultural Nr emissions to achieve more efficient PM2.5 mitigation. Such additional benefits of agricultural nitrogen management should be considered when designing future air quality strategies for agricultural-intensive regions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ddf8b9094e0b4f969691fb77d7767de0 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2397-3722 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Climate and Atmospheric Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-ddf8b9094e0b4f969691fb77d7767de02025-08-20T03:06:01ZengNature Portfolionpj Climate and Atmospheric Science2397-37222025-03-01811810.1038/s41612-025-00976-3Rising importance of agricultural nitrogen oxide emissions in China’s future PM2.5 pollution mitigationYuanhong Zhao0Zhanpeng Su1Youfan Chen2Suyi Hou3Xiao Lu4Bo Zheng5Lei Liu6Yuepeng Pan7Wen Xu8Xuejun Liu9Lin Zhang10Frontier Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System (FDOMES) and Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Ocean University of ChinaFrontier Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System (FDOMES) and Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Ocean University of ChinaSichuan Academy of Environmental Policy and PlanningFrontier Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System (FDOMES) and Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Ocean University of ChinaSchool of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai)Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ecological Remediation and Carbon Sequestration, Institute of Environment and Ecology, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua UniversityCollege of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou UniversityState Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry (LAPC), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of SciencesCollege of Resources and Environmental Sciences, National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, Key Laboratory of Plant–Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, National Observation and Research Station of Agriculture Green Development (Quzhou, Hebei), China Agricultural UniversityCollege of Resources and Environmental Sciences, National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, Key Laboratory of Plant–Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, National Observation and Research Station of Agriculture Green Development (Quzhou, Hebei), China Agricultural UniversityDepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking UniversityAbstract Controlling ammonia (NH3) emissions through agricultural management has been recognized as effectively mitigating fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in eastern China. However, agricultural nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions are often overlooked. Here we estimate agricultural NOx emissions and design a set of atmospheric chemistry model experiments to assess their role in present and future PM2.5 pollution mitigation in eastern China. The results show that when fossil fuel emissions decrease to 2060 levels, the contribution of agricultural NOx emissions to secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA) concentrations during the crop-growing season will reach 40% over intensive agricultural areas such as North China Plain, and the efficiency of reducing agricultural NOx emissions in mitigating SIAs will become comparable to reducing NH3 emissions. By estimating the optimal reactive nitrogen (Nr) emission control pathway, we find that when including agricultural NOx emissions, the strategies will shift in favor of controlling agricultural Nr emissions to achieve more efficient PM2.5 mitigation. Such additional benefits of agricultural nitrogen management should be considered when designing future air quality strategies for agricultural-intensive regions.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-00976-3 |
| spellingShingle | Yuanhong Zhao Zhanpeng Su Youfan Chen Suyi Hou Xiao Lu Bo Zheng Lei Liu Yuepeng Pan Wen Xu Xuejun Liu Lin Zhang Rising importance of agricultural nitrogen oxide emissions in China’s future PM2.5 pollution mitigation npj Climate and Atmospheric Science |
| title | Rising importance of agricultural nitrogen oxide emissions in China’s future PM2.5 pollution mitigation |
| title_full | Rising importance of agricultural nitrogen oxide emissions in China’s future PM2.5 pollution mitigation |
| title_fullStr | Rising importance of agricultural nitrogen oxide emissions in China’s future PM2.5 pollution mitigation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rising importance of agricultural nitrogen oxide emissions in China’s future PM2.5 pollution mitigation |
| title_short | Rising importance of agricultural nitrogen oxide emissions in China’s future PM2.5 pollution mitigation |
| title_sort | rising importance of agricultural nitrogen oxide emissions in china s future pm2 5 pollution mitigation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-00976-3 |
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