Synthetic fertilizer management for China’s cereal crops has reduced N2O emissions since the early 2000s

China has implemented a soil testing and fertilizer recommendation (STFR) program to reduce the over-usage of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer on cereal crops since the late 1990s. Using province scale datasets, we estimated an annual reduction rate of 2.5–5.1 kg N ha−1 from 1998 to 2008 and improving grain yields, which were attributed to the balanced application of phosphate and potassium fertilization. Relative to the means for 1998–2000, the synthetic N fertilizer input and the corresponding N-induced N2O production in cereal crops were reduced by 22 ± 0.7 Tg N and 241 ± 4 Gg N2O–N in 2001–2008. Further investigation suggested that the N2O emission related to wheat and maize cultivation could be reduced by 32–43 Gg N2O–N per year in China (26%–41% of the emissions in 2008) if the STFR practice is implemented universally in the future.

► China has implemented a soil testing and fertilizer recommendation (STFR) program since the late 1990s.
► We estimated fertilizer N reduction and corresponding N-induced N2O emission in cereal crops from 1998 to 2008.
► The STFR practice is substantial to mitigate N2O emission related to wheat and maize cultivation in the future.