Tracing Trade-Driven Nitrogen Transfers in the Yangtze River Delta: City-Level Evidence for Eco-compensation

作者：Shuwa Zhu, Ziyu Zheng, Su Xu, Qianwen Cheng, Lishan Xiao · 发表于：Ecosystem Health and Sustainability · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.34133/ehs.0568 · 研究领域：Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics、Isotope Analysis in Ecology、Marine and coastal ecosystems

Nitrogen is essential for agricultural productivity and urban development, yet excessive emissions threaten sustainable development, particularly in urban agglomerations such as the Yangtze River Delta (YRD). Nitrogen is redistributed virtually through interregional trade, creating a mismatch between nitrogen emissions and economic benefits and thereby highlighting the need for more precise eco-compensation. However, current eco-compensation approaches often fail to capture the sectoral and regional heterogeneity in both pollution emissions and economic benefits. To address this gap, this study develops a city-level nitrogen-extended multiregional input–output model for 41 cities in the YRD to identify trade-driven total nitrogen (TN) transfer patterns and allocate eco-compensation responsibilities across regions and sectors. The results show that the YRD is a net exporter of embodied nitrogen in both domestic and international trade. Interregional TN transfers exhibit a unidirectional pattern, with Anhui and Jiangsu as production bases, Zhejiang as a transit hub, and Shanghai as the terminal consumer. At the city level, TN flows typically originate from agricultural cities, such as Xuzhou and Yancheng, and move toward processing centers such as Suzhou in Jiangsu. Ecological relationships embedded in TN flows are characterized predominantly by exploitative and competitive interactions, while mutualistic interactions are relatively scarce. The supply chain-based eco-compensati...