Nitrogen fertilizer use and crop residue emissions show a linked pattern
Comparing Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Indirect emissions (N2O that leaches) (Synthetic fertilizers) with Crop Residues — Direct emissions (N2O) across 150 countries, 2023–2050.
- Rank correlation
- +0.84
- Holding size constant
- +0.56
- Countries compared
- 150
- Period
- 2023–2050
What might link these
Both indicators relate to agricultural practices and nitrogen cycling. Higher synthetic fertilizer use might correspond with certain farming methods that also generate more crop residue, or vice versa. However, the remaining correlation after controls suggests other factors are at play, and it's crucial to remember this is not proof of a direct causal link.
Why this is not proof of anything
This is a correlation across countries, not an experiment. It cannot show that either indicator causes the other, and both may simply follow a third thing. The remaining correlation could be due to shared agricultural intensity or other unmeasured environmental or policy factors, not a direct causal pathway between these two specific emission types.
The second figure above repeats the measurement with national population and income held constant. It is the more conservative number: a relationship that largely disappears there was mostly telling you that larger, richer countries have more of most things.
How this was measured
Both indicators were ranked across every country reporting each, and the two rankings compared — ranks rather than raw values, because a handful of very large countries can otherwise manufacture a relationship on their own. The calculation is arithmetic over figures already published on this site; the commentary above is drafted from the two indicator names and the resulting coefficients.