Global meta-analysis of individual and combined nitrogen inhibitors: Enhancing plant productivity and reducing environmental losses

The dataset for this study was assembled by collecting all peer-reviewed publications from March 2000 to April 2024 using the Web of Science, SCOPUS, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases. The bibliographic retrieval process preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA), with specific search terms used titles, keywords, and abstracts: ("NBPT" OR "N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide") AND ("DMPP" OR "3,4-dimethylepyrazole phosphate" OR "DCD" OR "dicyandiamide"). Based on the inclusion criteria, 261 experimental sites from 41 countries were selected for meta-analysis (Fig. 1).  The selection criteria were based on the following: (1) inclusion of only field observations, excluding pot and laboratory experiments; (2) experiments using urea as the base fertilizer; (3) comparison of the efficacy of individual inhibitors with combination inhibitors to determine cost-effective; (4) inclusion of treatment replicates (a minimum of three); (5) measurement of at least one of the following variables: soil inorganic nitrogen content (ammonium and nitrate), leaching of soluble inorganic nitrogen (ammonium and nitrate), gas emissions (ammonia, nitrous oxide, methane, etc.), or crop productivity (biomass, yield, and nitrogen uptake).