UK - China Virtual Joint Centre for Improved Nitrogen Agronomy (CINAG)

英国-中国氮素改良虚拟联合农艺中心尽管取得了很大进展，中国仍然需要增加农业产量，以养活日益增长的人口，同时克服工农业发展带来的相当大的环境问题，如空气和水污染以及土壤酸化。目前，三种主要粮食作物(小麦、玉米和水稻)只使用了所用氮肥的33%，而畜禽粪便等可回收有机废物中的养分只有不到40%被返还给农业。中国农业大学(CAU)、中国农业科学院(CAAS)和中国科学院(CAS)开发了与农民合作的创新和成功方法，以改善这一状况，使冬小麦和夏玉米产量增加35%，氮肥使用量减少20%。然而，中国政府已经制定了到2020年在化学投入零增长的情况下提高产量的目标。Rothamsted Research及其合作伙伴生态与水文中心(CEH)和班戈大学(BU)与中国农业大学、中国农业科学院和中国科学院合作了10多年，产生了农业和环境研究成果，这些研究成果发表在最好的期刊《自然》和《科学》上，但中国农民也通过中国肥料推荐系统和农民田间学校等机制使用这些研究成果。我们建议通过一个氮农学虚拟联合中心加强我们与中国的合作研究，该中心将：1.开展联合研究项目，特别是使用新颖的‘农场平台’，使我们能够通过农场层面的研究开发经济和环境可持续的农业系统。为实验室和实地工作交流工作人员和学生，重点放在英国到中国的运动上，为期1-3个月，例如，暑期学生从英国访问中国，在新的中国农业大学种植农场平台工作。举行联席会议和会议，公众参与。与中国和英国农民分享数据管理、出版物和实际工作。我们将开发基于元基因组学的氮利用效率和土壤质量新指标，利用这些指标和其他新兴知识，测试和开发允许(特别是中国)农业可持续集约化的农场系统，并将这些发展带给中国农民。我们将通过四个工作包来实现这一目标：提高对氮素循环的基本理解；利用新的氮素技术；改进农艺实践；预测能力和知识交流中心将以中国伙伴奖和合作伙伴之间的联合项目(如2008年至2011年由英国外交部和中国农业部联合资助的中英低碳农业项目(Grant FCO-C02/62.1001))为基础，并与中国农业科学院现有的VJC：农业可持续集约化中心(CSIA)建立联系，并与类似的国际倡议，如欧盟“N专家组”，密切联系。利用专家小组在(1)农场一级和(2)通过食物链表达氮素的方法，以比较系统和地区，并作为更有效利用氮素的刺激。中心将通过现有的“科技后院”计划将其研究转化为中国的实践，该计划由我们在中国农业大学、中国科学院和河北农业科学院的合作伙伴管理，并与中国地方政府推广机构、化肥公司和农民建立联系。

UK-China Virtual Joint Centre for Improved Nitrogen Agronomy (CINAG)Despite making great progress, China still needs to increase agricultural production to feed its growing population with its increasing expectations while overcoming the considerable environmental problems that industrial and agricultural development has brought with it such as air and water pollution and soil acidification. Currently the three main cereal crops (wheat, maize and rice) use only 33% of the nitrogen fertiliser applied, and less than 40% of the nutrients in recyclable organic 'wastes' such as livestock manure are returned to agriculture. China Agricultural University (CAU), the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have developed innovative and successful ways of working with farmers to improve the situation, increasing yields of winter wheat and summer maize by 35% and reducing nitrogen fertiliser use by 20%. However, the Chinese Government has set the goal of increasing yields with zero increases in chemical inputs by the year 2020.Rothamsted Research and its partners in this proposal, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) and Bangor University (BU), have worked with CAU, CAAS and CAS for over 10 years, producing research into agriculture and the environment that has been published in the very best journals such as 'Nature' and 'Science' but also used by Chinese farmers through such mechanisms as a Chinese fertiliser recommendations system and farmer field schools. We propose to increase our UK-China collaborative research through a Virtual Joint Centre in Nitrogen Agronomy that would:1. Carry out joint research projects, in particular using novel 'Farm Platforms' that will allow us to develop economically and environmentally sustainable farm systems through research at the farm level.2. Exchange staff and students for laboratory and field work, with a strong focus on UK-to-China movements and for periods of 1-3 months, e.g. summer student visits from the UK to China to work on the new CAU Cropping Farm Platform.3. Hold joint conferences and meetings, with public participation.4. Share data management, publications and practical work with farmers in China and the UK.We will develop novel metagenomic-based indicators of N use efficiency and soil quality, use these indicators, and other emerging knowledge, to test and develop farm systems that permit the sustainable intensification of (especially Chinese) agriculture, and take these developments to Chinese farmers. We will achieve this through four Work Packages: improved fundamental understanding of N cycling; harnessing novel N technologies; improved agronomic practices; predictive capacity and knowledge exchangeThe Centre will build on previous collaborations such as China Partnering Awards and joint projects between the partners such as 'Sino-United Kingdom Low Carbon Agriculture' project (Grant FCO-C02/62.1001), 2008-2011, funded jointly by the UK FCO and the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and an existing VJC with CAAS: The 'Centre for the Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture' (CSIA) and closely link to similar international initiatives such as EU 'N Expert Panel', utilising the Panel's approaches for expressing NUE at (1) the farm level and (2) through the food chain in order to compare systems and regions and as a stimulus to use N more efficiently. The Centre will translate its research into practice in China through the existing and very 'Science and Technology Backyard (STB)' programme, managed by our partners at CAU, CAAS and the Hebei Institute of Agricultural Sciences, and linked to Chinese local government extension agencies, fertiliser companies and farmers.