Reducing agricultural nitrogen use: A price endogenous partial equilibrium analysis in the Yangtze River Basin, China

The overuse of nitrogen fertilizers in agricultural production China, resulting negative impacts on the environment, has become a serious issue. Thus, reducing use one top priorities for achieving sustainable development goals Chinese sector. Searching effective approaches to reduce is essential and environmental sustainability. In this study, we selected Yangtze River Basin as research area, owing its critical role production, established price endogenous partial equilibrium model simulate effect reduction from optimization (NUO) efficiency improvement (NUE+). Based datasets 2019, simulation results revealed that 1) NUO helped loss by 6.99% 7.50%, respectively; if changes acreage are considered, then will be less significant; 2) decreased continuously with NUE+, rate was 7.85%, 15.38%, 22.65%, 28.02% under NUE+10%, NUE+20%, NUE+30%, NUE+40% scenarios, respectively, highly sensitive; 3) crop heterogeneity indicated cereals regarded nitrogen-overuse crops more sensitive NUE+ scenarios than oil crops. Accordingly, suggested practical policies incentives necessary, flexible adjustment strategies crop-planting structures, such enlarging cereals, may useful Basin.