A global FAOSTAT reference database of cropland nutrient budgets and nutrient use efficiency (1961–2020): nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium

Agricultural nutrient budgets help to identify an excess or an insufficiency in use of fertilizers and other nutrient sources. Nutrient budgets allow for indicators such as the nutrient balance (surplus or deficit) and nutrient use efficiency to be estimated. This can help in the monitoring of agricultural productivity and sustainability globally. The present dataset is a global database of country-level budget estimates for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in cropland. The database is disseminated in FAOSTAT and provides a global reference, synthesizing and continuously updating the state-of-the-art on this topic. The database covers the period 961 to 2020 for 205 countries and territories, as well as regional and global aggregates. Results indicate the wide range in nutrient use and use efficiencies across regions, nutrients, and time. This dataset introduces improvements over previous work in relation to key nutrient coefficients affecting nutrient budgets and use efficiency estimates. This is especially for nutrient removal in crop products, manure nutrient content, atmospheric deposition and crop biological N fixation rates. 

Methods

Details of how the Cropland Nutrient Budget data were collected and processed are described by Ludemann et al. (2024).

Reference

Ludemann, C.I., Wanner, N., Chivenge, P., Dobermann, A., Einarsson, R., Grassini, P., Gruere, A., Jackson, K., Lassaletta, L., Maggi, F., Obli-Laryea, G., van Ittersum, M.K., Vishwakarma, S., Zhang, X., Tubiello, F.N., 2024. A global FAOSTAT reference database of cropland nutrient budgets and nutrient use efficiency (1961–2020): nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Earth Syst. Sci. Data. 16(1), 525-541. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-525-2024.