Wild ancestors of domesticated barley possess traits to reduce nitrogen pollution

The sharp increase in fertilizer use over recent decades has led to severe nitrogen (N) pollution, with less than half of the applied N typically absorbed by crops. We conducted a series of mesocosm experiments comparing an elite barley variety and wild ancestors, representing the progenitors of the HEB-25 population, grown under standard and reduced N fertilization. We focused on two key pathways of N pollution: nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions and nitrate (NO₃⁻) leaching. The scripts and datasets of this study are included in this file.