Exploring optimal nitrogen management strategies to mitigate nitrogen losses from paddy soil in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River

•The WHCNS model performed well in simulating rice growth, water and N fates.•Ammonia volatilization and N runoff exponentially increased with N fertilizer rate.•Ammonia volatilization and denitrification accounted for 72% of the total N loss.•Reducing the total N rate and increasing topdressing rate can effectively reduce N loss.•The optimal N management was recommended to reduce negative environmental impacts. Excessive fertilization in rice paddy fields leads to surface water eutrophication, groundwater contamination and air pollution. Determining optimum nitrogen (N) management is essential for maintaining rice yield while reducing the environmental risk caused by N loss. A two-year field experiment (2017–2018) was carried out in a typical paddy field in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The WHCNS (soil Water Heat Carbon Nitrogen Simulator) model was calibrated and evaluated for simulations of measured ponding water depth, evapotranspiration, aboveground dry matter, yield, runoff and crop N. The model was then used to evaluate the effects of different N fertilizer rates and split-N application ratios (SNR) practices on crop growth and N losses. Results showed that the model performed well in simulating rice growth and N losses in the region. Ammonia volatilization and denitrification were the mainly pathways of N loss in paddy field, and their two-year average losses were 34% and 38% of the total N loss, respectively. N leaching accounted for 23%, and runoff N loss accounted for 5% of total N loss. N losses were evaluated for two different scenarios and simulated ratios of ammonia volatilization, denitrification, N leaching, and runoff to total N loss under different N management scenarios were 15%–53%, 33%–55%, 6%–30%, and 4%–8%, respectively. Ammonia volatilization and N runoff exponentially increased with an increase of N fertilizer rate, whereas denitrification and N leaching showed an increasing and then a decreasing trend. Yield increased by 36 kg ha−1, and the total N loss decreased by 32.6 kg N ha−1 when the N fertilizer rate was reduced from 231 kg N ha−1 to 155 kg N ha−1 and the SNR was changed from 5:3:1 to 1:1:4. Therefore, reducing the N fertilizer rate and increasing the SNR in the late rice growing season can significantly reduce N loss and effectively improve N use efficiency.