Bai X, Zhang Z, Cui J, Liu Z, Chen Z, Zhou J. 2020. Strategies to mitigate nitrate leaching in vegetable production in China: A meta-analysis. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27, 18382–18391.

Butterbach-Bahl K, Gundersen P, Ambus P, Augustin J, Beier C, Boeckx P, Dannenmann M, Gimeno B S, Ibrom A, Kiese R, Kitzler B, Rees R M, Smith K A, Stevens C, Vesala T, Zechmeister-Boltenstern S. 2011. Nitrogen processes in terrestrial ecosystems. In: The European Nitrogen Assessment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. pp. 99–125.

Chen Q, Lu S. 2015. Nutrient Management of Fruit Vegetables. China Agricultural University Press, Beijing. (in Chinese)

Chen X, Cui Z, Fan M, Vitousek P, Zhao M, Ma W, Wang Z, Zhang W, Yan X, Yang J, Deng X, Gao Q, Zhang Q, Guo S, Ren J, Li S, Ye Y, Wang Z, Huang J, Tang Q, et al. 2014. Producing more grain with lower environmental costs. Nature, 514, 486–489.

Cui M. 2012. Studies on mechanism and mitigation of nitrate leaching in vegetable ecosystem in suburbs of Wuhan. Ph D thesis, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan. (in Chinese)

Di Y, Yang H, Zhang H, Li F. 2024. Nitrogen management indicators for sustainable crop production in an intensive potato system under drip irrigation. Journal of Environmental Management, 361, 121270.

Elrys A S, Wang J, Meng L, Zhu Q, El-Sawy M M, Chen Z, Tu X, El-Saadony M T, Zhang Y, Zhang J, Cai Z, Müller C, Cheng Y. 2023. Integrative knowledge-based nitrogen management practices can provide positive effects on ecosystem nitrogen retention. Nature Food, 4, 1075–1089.

Fan B, Zhang Y, Fenton O, Daly K, Li J, Wang H, Zhai L, Luo X, Lei Q, Wu S, Liu H. 2024. Irrigation and nitrogen fertiliser optimisation in protected vegetable fields of northern China: Achieving environmental and agronomic sustainability. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 23, 1022–1033.

Foley J A, Ramankutty N, Brauman K A, Cassidy E S, Gerber J S, Johnston M, Mueller N D, O Connell C, Ray D K, West P C, Balzer C, Bennett E M, Carpenter S R, Hill J, Monfreda C, Polasky S, Rockström J, Sheehan J, Siebert S, Tilman D, et al. 2011. Solutions for a cultivated planet. Nature, 478, 337–342.

Fu Z, Zhang K, Zhang J, Zhang Y, Cao Q, Tian Y, Zhu Y, Cao W, Liu X. 2023. Optimizing nitrogen application and sowing date can improve environmental sustainability and economic benefit in wheat–rice rotation. Agricultural Systems, 204, 103536.

GB/T 14848-2017. 2017. Standard for Groundwater Quality. National Standard of the People’s Republic of China. (in Chinese)

Han Z, Leng Y, Sun Z, Lin H, Wang J, Zou J. 2024. Machine learning-based estimation and mitigation of nitric oxide emissions from Chinese vegetable fields. Environmental Pollution, 343, 123174.

Hao Y, Zheng T, Zheng X, Liu L, Jiang S, Cao M, Luo J. 2024. The impact of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) retention in the vadose zone on nitrogen leaching losses. Chemosphere, 366, 143449.

Hina N S. 2024. Global meta-analysis of nitrate leaching vulnerability in synthetic and organic fertilizers over the past four decades. Water, 16, 457.

Hoekstra A Y, Chapagain A K, Aldaya M M, Mekonnen M M. 2011. The Water Footprint Assessment Manual: Setting the Global Standard. Earthscan, London.

Kanter D R, Searchinger T D. 2018. A technology-forcing approach to reduce nitrogen pollution. Nature Sustainability, 1, 544–552.

Li W, Wang K, Feng T, Miao P, Zheng Z, Zhang X, Zheng W, Li Z, Zhai B. 2024. Optimizing combination of chemical nitrogen fertilizer and manure can increase yield and economic benefits of dryland wheat while reduce environmental risks. European Journal of Agronomy, 159, 127272.

Liu C, Watanabe M, Wang Q. 2008. Changes in nitrogen budgets and nitrogen use efficiency in the agroecosystems of the Changjiang river basin between 1980 and 2000. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 80, 19–37.

Liu L, Wen Z, Liu S, Zhang X, Liu X. 2024. Decline in atmospheric nitrogen deposition in China between 2010 and 2020. Nature Geoscience, 17, 733–736.

Lu Y, Kang T, Gao J, Chen Z, Zhou J. 2018. Reducing nitrogen fertilization of intensive kiwifruit orchards decreases nitrate accumulation in soil without compromising crop production. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 17, 1421–1431.

Luo Y, Wu X, Xiao H, Toan N, Liao B, Wu X, Hu R. 2023. Leaching is the main pathway of nitrogen loss from a citrus orchard in central China. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 356, 108559.

Ma B, Liang Z, Hua W, Groot J C J, Zhang F, van der Werf W, Cong W. 2025. Improved sustainability of grain production by intercropping and partial organic substitution in the North China plain. Field Crops Research, 326, 109886.

MARA (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China). 2015. Circular of the Ministry of Agriculture on Printing and Distributing the Action Plan for Zero Growth in the Application of Fertilizer by 2020 and the Action Plan for Zero Growth in the Application of Pesticide by 2020. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing. (in Chinese)

Min J, Sun H, Kronzucker H J, Wang Y, Shi W. 2021. Comprehensive assessment of the effects of nitrification inhibitor application on reactive nitrogen loss in intensive vegetable production systems. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 307, 107227.

Min J, Zhang H, Shi W. 2012. Optimizing nitrogen input to reduce nitrate leaching loss in greenhouse vegetable production. Agricultural Water Management, 111, 53–59.

Min J, Zhao X, Shi W, Xing G, Zhu Z. 2011. Nitrogen balance and loss in a greenhouse vegetable system in southeastern China. Pedosphere, 21, 464–472.

Oenema O, Brentrup F, Lammel J, Bascou P, Billen G, Dobermann A, Erisman J, Garnett T, Hammel M, Haniotis T, Hillier J, Hoxha A, Jensen L, Oleszek W, Pallière C, Powlson D, Quemada M, Schulman M, Sutton M, Van Grinsven H, et al. 2015. Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) - an Indicator for the Utilization of Nitrogen in Agriculture and Food Systems. Prepared by the EU Nitrogen Expert Panel. Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands.

Pan Z, He P, Fan D, Jiang R, Song D, Song L, Zhou W, He W. 2024. Global impact of enhanced-efficiency fertilizers on vegetable productivity and reactive nitrogen losses. Science of the Total Environment, 926, 172016.

Qasim W, Xia L, Lin S, Wan L, Zhao Y, Butterbach-Bahl K. 2021. Global greenhouse vegetable production systems are hotspots of soil N2O emissions and nitrogen leaching: A meta-analysis. Environmental Pollution, 272, 116372.

Quan Z, Lu C, Shi Y, Chen X, Huang B, Wang Y, Zhao Y, Ma J. 2015. Manure increase the leaching risk of soil extractable organic nitrogen in intensively irrigated greenhouse vegetable cropping systems. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica (Section B: Soil and Plant Science), 65, 199–207.

Sainju U M. 2017. Determination of nitrogen balance in agroecosystems. MethodsX, 4, 199–208.

Souza E F C, Rosen C J, Venterea R T. 2021. Co-application of DMPSA and NBPT with urea mitigates both nitrous oxide emissions and nitrate leaching during irrigated potato production. Environmental Pollution, 284, 117124.

Sun Y, Chen S, Feng P, Chen Q, Hu K. 2024. Assessing the fates of water and nitrogen on an open-field intensive vegetable system under an Expert-N system with EU-rotate_N model in North China Plain. Plants-Basel, 13, 2150.

Tei F, De Neve S, de Haan J, Kristensen H L. 2020. Nitrogen management of vegetable crops. Agricultural Water Management, 240, 106316.

Tian X, Yu H, Cong J, Yin Y, He K, Wang Z, Cui Z. 2024. The estimation method is the primary source of uncertainty in cropland nitrate leaching estimates in China. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 24, 2425–2437.

Wang D, Guo L, Zheng L, Zhang Y, Yang R, Li M, Ma F, Zhang X, Li Y. 2019. Effects of nitrogen fertilizer and water management practices on nitrogen leaching from a typical open field used for vegetable planting in northern China. Agricultural Water Management, 213, 913–921.

Wang J, Liu X, Beusen A H W, Middelburg J J. 2023. Surface-water nitrate exposure to world populations has expanded and intensified during 1970–2010. Environmental Science & Technology, 57, 19395–19406.

Wang J, Yang X, Huang S, Wu L, Cai Z, Xu M. 2024. Long-term combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers increases crop yield sustainability by improving soil fertility in maize–wheat cropping systems. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 24, 290–305.

Wang L, Li M. 2024. Review of soil dissolved organic nitrogen cycling: Implication for groundwater nitrogen contamination. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 461, 132713.

Wang S, Feng P, Batchelor W D, Hu K, Li J. 2024. Organic farming decreases nitrate leaching but increases dissolved organic nitrogen leaching in greenhouse vegetable production systems. Plant and Soil, 498, 111–124.

Wang X, Dou Z, Shi X, Zou C, Liu D, Wang Z, Guan X, Sun Y, Wu G, Zhang B, Li J, Liang B, Tang L, Jiang L, Sun Z, Yang J, Si D X, Zhao H, Liu B, Zhang W, Zhang F, Zhang F, Chen X. 2021. Innovative management programme reduces environmental impacts in Chinese vegetable production. Nature Food, 2, 47–53.

Wang X, Zou C, Gao X, Guan X, Zhang Y, Shi X, Chen X. 2018. Nitrate leaching from open-field and greenhouse vegetable systems in China: A meta-analysis. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 25, 31007–31016.

Wang Y, Liu Y, Xia L, Akiyama H, Chen X, Chen J, Fang Y, Vancov T, Li Y, Yao Y, Wu D, Yu B, Chang S X, Cai Y. 2025. Accounting for differences between crops and regions reduces estimates of nitrate leaching from nitrogen-fertilized soils. Communications Earth & Environment, 6, 29.

Wei Z, Hoffland E, Zhuang M, Hellegers P, Cui Z. 2021. Organic inputs to reduce nitrogen export via leaching and runoff: A global meta-analysis. Environmental Pollution, 291, 118176.

Wen S, Cui N, Wang Y, Gong D, Xing L, Wu Z, Zhang Y, Wang Z. 2024. Determining effect of fertilization on reactive nitrogen losses through nitrate leaching and key influencing factors in Chinese agricultural systems. Agricultural Water Management, 303, 109055.

WHO (World Health Organization). 2011. Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality. World Health Organization Press, Switzerland. pp. 104–108.

Willett W, Rockstrom J, Loken B, Springmann M, Lang T, Vermeulen S, Garnett T, Tilman D, Declerck F, Wood A, Jonell M, Clark M, Gordon L J, Fanzo J, Hawkes C, Zurayk R, Rivera J A, De Vries W, Majele S L, Afshin A, et al. 2019. Food in the anthropocene: The EAT-lancet commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. Lancet, 393, 447–492.

Xia L, Lam S K, Chen D, Wang J, Tang Q, Yan X. 2017. Can knowledge-based N management produce more staple grain with lower greenhouse gas emission and reactive nitrogen pollution? A meta-analysis. Global Change Biology, 23, 1917–1925.

Xu X, Zou Y, Pan H, Zhang R, Gu B. 2024. Safeguarding groundwater nitrate within regional boundaries in China. Environmental Science & Technology, 59, 467–477.

Yang L, Zhou Y, Meng B, Zhan J, Xi M, Deng Y, Wu W, Lakshmanan P, Chen X, Zhang F. 2024. High sugarcane yield and large reduction in reactive nitrogen loss can be achieved by lowering nitrogen input. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 369, 109032.

Yang M, Zhu X, Bai Y, Sun D, Zou H, Fang Y, Zhang Y. 2021. Coated controlled-release urea creates a win–win scenario for producing more staple grains and resolving N loss dilemma worldwide. Journal of Cleaner Production, 288, 125660.

Yao Z, Zhang W, Chen Y, Zhang W, Liu D, Gao X, Chen X. 2021. Nitrogen leaching and grey water footprint affected by nitrogen fertilization rate in maize production: A case study of southwest China. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 101, 6064–6073.

Yin Y, Zhao R, Yang Y, Meng Q, Ying H, Cassman K G, Cong W, Tian X, He K, Wang Y, Cui Z, Chen X, Zhang F. 2021. A steady-state N balance approach for sustainable smallholder farming. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118, e2106576118.

Ying H, Xue Y, Yan K, Wang Y, Yin Y, Liu Z, Zhang Q, Tian X, Li Z, Liu Y, Cui Z. 2020. Safeguarding food supply and groundwater safety for maize production in China. Environmental Science & Technology, 54, 9939–9948.

You L, Ros G H, Chen Y, Zhang F, de Vries W. 2024. Optimized agricultural management reduces global cropland nitrogen losses to air and water. Nature Food, 5, 995–1004.

Zhang B, Li Q, Cao J, Zhang C, Song Z, Zhang F, Chen X. 2017. Reducing nitrogen leaching in a subtropical vegetable system. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 241, 133–141.

Zhang C, Gu B, Liang X, Lam S K, Zhou Y, Chen D. 2024. The role of nitrogen management in achieving global sustainable development goals. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 201, 107304.

Zhang C, Song X, Zhang Y, Wang D, Rees R M, Ju X. 2022. Using nitrification inhibitors and deep placement to tackle the trade-offs between NH3 and N2O emissions in global croplands. Global Change Biology, 28, 4409–4422.

Zhang F. 2025. Study on nitrogen regulation in vegetable production for quality improvement, efficiency enhancement, and environmental emission reduction. Ph D thesis, Southwest University, Chongqing. (in Chinese)

Zhang F, Chen X, Chen Q. 2009. Fertilizer Application Guide for Major Crops in China. China Agricultural University Press, Beijing. (in Chinese)

Zhang F, Cui Z, Chen X, Ju X, Shen J, Chen Q, Liu X, Zhang W, Mi G, Fan M, Jiang R. 2012. Integrated nutrient management for food security and environmental quality in China. Advances in Agronomy, 116, 1–40.

Zhang F, Gao X, Wang J, Liu F, Ma X, Cao H, Chen X, Wang X. 2022. Sustainable nitrogen management for vegetable production in China. Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, 3, 373–385.

Zhang F, Ma X, Gao X, Cao H, Liu F, Wang J, Guo G, Liang T, Wang Y, Chen X, Wang X. 2023. Innovative nitrogen management strategy reduced N2O emission while maintaining high pepper yield in subtropical condition. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 354, 108565.

Zhang J, Ding W, Cui R, Li M, Ullah S, Ping H. 2022. The nutrient expert decision support system improves nutrient use efficiency and environmental performance of radish in North China. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 21, 1501–1512.

Zhang J, He P, Ding W, Ullah S, Abbas T, Li M, Ai C, Zhou W. 2021. Identifying the critical nitrogen fertilizer rate for optimum yield and minimum nitrate leaching in a typical field radish cropping system in China. Environmental Pollution, 268, 115004.

Zhang Q, Chu Y, Xue Y, Ying H, Chen X, Zhao Y, Ma W, Ma L, Zhang J, Yin Y, Cui Z. 2020. Outlook of China’s agriculture transforming from smallholder operation to sustainable production. Global Food Security, 26, 100444.

Zhang X, Davidson E A, Mauzerall D L, Searchinger T D, Dumas P, Shen Y. 2015. Managing nitrogen for sustainable development. Nature, 528, 51–59.

Zhang Y, Liu X, You L, Zhang F. 2020. Improving potential of nitrogen linked gray water footprint in China’s intensive cropping systems. Journal of Cleaner Production, 269, 122307.

Zhou J, Li B, Xia L, Fan C, Xiong Z. 2019. Organic-substitute strategies reduced carbon and reactive nitrogen footprints and gained net ecosystem economic benefit for intensive vegetable production. Journal of Cleaner Production, 225, 984–994.

Zhou M, Zhu B, Brüggemann N, Dannenmann M, Wang Y, Butterbach-Bahl K. 2016. Sustaining crop productivity while reducing environmental nitrogen losses in the subtropical wheat–maize cropping systems: A comprehensive case study of nitrogen cycling and balance. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 231, 1–14.

Zhou W, Lv H, Chen F, Wang Q, Li J, Chen Q, Liang B. 2022. Optimizing nitrogen management reduces mineral nitrogen leaching loss mainly by decreasing water leakage in vegetable fields under plastic-shed greenhouse. Environmental Pollution, 308, 119616.