The impact of nitrogen Fertilizer application on air Pollution: Evidence from China.

We examine the effects of nitrogen fertilizer application on air pollution in China. Distinct from the existing literature that tends to utilize field sampling method, we construct a comprehensive panel dataset and discover that 1 g nitrogen increase in fertilizer correlates with a rise of 0.55 μg/m³ in PM concentrations. Additionally, heterogenous results across the crops indicate that rice and corn crops exacerbate air pollution, whereas the impact of nitrogen fertilizer on wheat remains ambiguous, and these effects predominantly emerge during the initial growth stages. Our findings also suggest that while the nitrogen fertilizer contributes to heightened levels of PM and SO, it conversely leads to a reduction in ozone concentrations, which is not provided by existing studies.