info:oai:orgprints.org:56647info:ofi/fmt:xml:xsd:oai_dc https://orgprints.org/id/eprint/56647/ Optimizing nitrogen use efficiency in European livestock systems: From feed to plant growth Epper, Carole A. Zavattaro, Laura Velhof, Gerard L. Thuriès, Laurent Steinsberger, Thomas Sorensen, Peter Richards, Karl Oberson, Astrid Möller, Kurt Merbold, Lutz Menzi, Harald Liebisch, Frank Levavasseur, Florent Leiber, Florian Kupper, Thomas Krol, Dominika Janke, David Hofmeier, Maximilian Hoekstra, Nyncke J. Guillaume, Thomas Gilgen, Anina Ghiasi, Shiva Frick, Hanna Dragoni, Frederico Diaz de Otalora, Xabier Chadwick, David R. Cavalli, Daniele Bretscher, Daniel Bischoff, Wolf-Anno Bechini, Luca Argento, Francesco Amon, Barbara Ammann, Christof Mayer, Jochen Composting and manuring Feeding and growth Nutrient turnover Nitrogen (N) is a crucial nutrient for agriculture. Its unlimited provision by the Haber-Bosch process has led to high N surplus in agriculture, causing severe negative environmental externalities. The reduction of N losses in livestock systems and consequent enhancement of their nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) represents a key lever to substantially reduce the N surplus to meet European environmental policy targets. This review evaluates the potentials to improve the NUE of European cattle and pig livestock systems from feed to plant N use along the whole livestock system cascade. It discusses options to improve feed NUE and the current measures to reduce N losses at housing, manure storage and application as well as crop N recovery. The findings are synthesized at the overall livestock system level using exemplary case-study farms from selected European regions, to highlight potentials for livestock system NUE improvements in the context of the current and future European legislations. All case- study farms have already implemented measures for N loss mitigation, and their livestock system NUE reaches values between 55 % and 75 %. With the implementation of additional measures such as liquid manure acidification, low emission technologies and best field management, livestock system NUE can reach values between 75 % and 85 %. In order to achieve such high livestock system NUE and meet environmental goals, a scaled implementation of best available technologies is essential, and has to go hand in hand with a legislative harmonization and a targeted development of additional reduction measures and auxiliary tools for farmers. 274 Carole A. Epper et al 2025 Journal paper NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en /id/eprint/56647/1/Epper%20et%20al.%20%282025%29_NUE%20Livestock%20Systems_Adv%20Agron_50064.pdf Epper, Carole A.; Zavattaro, Laura; Velhof, Gerard L.; Thuriès, Laurent; Steinsberger, Thomas; Sorensen, Peter; Richards, Karl; Oberson, Astrid; Möller, Kurt; Merbold, Lutz; Menzi, Harald; Liebisch, Frank; Levavasseur, Florent; Leiber, Florian; Kupper, Thomas; Krol, Dominika; Janke, David; Hofmeier, Maximilian; Hoekstra, Nyncke J.; Guillaume, Thomas; Gilgen, Anina; Ghiasi, Shiva; Frick, Hanna; Dragoni, Frederico; Diaz de Otalora, Xabier; Chadwick, David R.; Cavalli, Daniele; Bretscher, Daniel; Bischoff, Wolf-Anno; Bechini, Luca; Argento, Francesco; Amon, Barbara; Ammann, Christof and Mayer, Jochen (2025) Optimizing nitrogen use efficiency in European livestock systems: From feed to plant growth. Advances in Agronomy, 191, pp. 273-358. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.agron.2025.01.003 https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.agron.2025.01.003