Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41794831›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Preventing subsoil enhanced nitrification to safeguard agroecosystem sustainability.

Yao Wang, Xin Luo, Esteban G Jobbágy, Nandita B Basu, Ganlin Zhang, Yi Zheng, Baojing Gu, Shaoliang Zhang, Yiqi Yu, Fenfang Wang and 5 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Yao WangFujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9955-2774
Xin LuoLaboratory for Sea Space Agent, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. xinluo@hku.hk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1740-2765
Esteban G JobbágyGrupo de Estudios Ambientales, CONICET, San Luis, Argentina.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4214-6011
Nandita B BasuDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8867-8523
Ganlin ZhangState Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5729-1062
Yi ZhengSchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8442-182X
Baojing GuCollege of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3986-3519
Shaoliang ZhangCollege of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8477-5054
Yiqi YuFujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
Fenfang WangFujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
Zeyang LuFujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
Ruifeng YanFujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
Scott X ChangDepartment of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7624-439X
Yonglong LuFujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
Nengwang ChenFujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China. nwchen@xmu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5200-1035

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 42322901National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 42530405National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 51961125203
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The excessive application of nitrogen fertilizers in croplands drives nitrification-induced nitrogen losses, accelerating soil degradation and groundwater nitrate pollution. By synthesizing global nitrogen profiles and field studies, we identify a previously overlooked "enhanced nitrification layer (ENL)" at approximately 0.6 m depth (ranging from 0.3 to 0.9 m) across global croplands. The formation of the ENL relies on the interplay of four key processes: root-mediated nitrogen transport (the conveyor belt), an oxygenated microenvironment sustained by soil texture (the reaction chamber), nitrifier communities (the nitrification engine), and favorable hydrological conditions (the activating switch). This ENL acts as a biogeochemical hotspot, driving subsoil pH declines and nitrate leaching to groundwater. Its identification establishes a precise subsurface target, expanding nitrogen management to address the critical depth of peak transformation alongside surface measures, thereby advancing agroecosystem sustainability.

Identifiers

PMID41794831
PMCPMC13096120

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.