Context: Achieving synergistic improvements in productivity and sustainability represents a major challenge for maize production on the semi-arid Loess Plateau. Objective: Mulching practices and optimized nitrogen management are critical for regulating maize growth and mitigating gaseous nitrogen losses. However, the mechanisms by which combining different mulching practices and nitrogen fertilizer regimes improves crop productivity while mitigating gaseous nitrogen losses remains unclear, warranting further investigation. Methods: Based on a 10-year long-term experiment, a 2-year study (2023-2024) was conducted in the eastern Loess Plateau to assess spring maize growth and gaseous nitrogen losses under different management practices. The experiment included seven field management treatments: six combinations of three mulching practices (no mulching (NM), plastic film mulching (FM), and straw mulching (SM)) and two nitrogen regimes (split urea application (UR) and one-time application of a controlled-release and common urea mixture (CR)), plus a control treatment with no mulching and no nitrogen application (CK). Results: Among all treatments, SM+CR (CS) exhibited the strongest synergy: compared with NM+UR (UN), CS maintained higher leaf area index (LAI) and SPAD values from the silking stage (R1) to the milk stage (R3), thereby enhancing photosynthesis and resource capture, and increasing dry matter accumulation by 33.94 %40.23 %. Consequently, relative to UN, the CS treatment promoted more grains per ear and a higher 100-grain weight, ultimately increasing grain yield by 27.51 %-40.03 % and nitrogen uptake by 50.23 %-57.87 %, while reducing gaseous nitrogen losses by 37.27 %-44.60 %. In comparison, FM promoted early-stage maize growth, increased biomass and LAI, and raised intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (IPAR) 4.16 %-10.54 % relative to NM. However, FM also stimulated the activities of key soil N cycle enzymes (urease, ammonia monooxygenase (AMO), and nitrite reductase (NIR)), leading to a 34.71 %-95.50 % increase in cumulative nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and a 34.35 %-101.10 % increase in global warming potential (GWP). In contrast to FM, SM moderated soil enzyme activities, improved the soil hydrothermal environment, enhanced nitrogen uptake by 5.26 %-14.89 %, and effectively reduced both yield-scaled NH3 and N2O emissions. Compared with UR, CR optimized nitrogen release timing, avoiding a mid-to-late season peak in soil enzyme activity and reducing gaseous nitrogen losses by 13.60 %-27.79 %. Consequently, CR increased grains per panicle and improved crop yield by 8.36 %-21.06 %. Conclusions: One-time application of a controlled-release and common urea mixture combined with straw mulching (CS) enhances spring maize productivity while mitigating environmental impacts, providing a sustainable agricultural management strategy for the eastern Loess Plateau.