Distant Views and Local Realities: The Limits of Global Assessments to Restore the Fragmented Phosphorus Cycle

Sharpley, Andrew N.; Kleinman, Peter J. A.; Jarvie, Helen P.; Flaten, Don

doi:10.2134/ael2016.07.0024

Cited by 34 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Our modelling framework is a critical step towards the assessment of the P limitation in agricultural ecosystems and for global food production. Such coupled model could be used under different farming scenarios to investigate, besides consideration of local nuances of farm operations (Sharpley et al, 2016), how policies could be oriented towards more sustainable P resource management and yield gap closure. Such combinations would require different modelling developments.…”

Section: A Perspective For Assessing P Limitation On Global Yieldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phosphorus in agricultural soils: drivers of its distribution at the global scale

Ringeval

Augusto

Monod

et al. 2017

Global Change Biology

133

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Phosphorus (P) availability in soils limits crop yields in many regions of the World, while excess of soil P triggers aquatic eutrophication in other regions. Numerous processes drive the global spatial distribution of P in agricultural soils, but their relative roles remain unclear. Here, we combined several global data sets describing these drivers with a soil P dynamics model to simulate the distribution of P in agricultural soils and to assess the contributions of the different drivers at the global scale. We analysed both the labile inorganic P (P ), a proxy of the pool involved in plant nutrition and the total soil P (P ). We found that the soil biogeochemical background corresponding to P inherited from natural soils at the conversion to agriculture (BIOG) and farming practices (FARM) were the main drivers of the spatial variability in cropland soil P content but that their contribution varied between P vs. P . When the spatial variability was computed between grid cells at half-degree resolution, we found that almost all of the P spatial variability could be explained by BIOG, while BIOG and FARM explained 38% and 63% of P spatial variability, respectively. Our work also showed that the driver contribution was sensitive to the spatial scale characterizing the variability (grid cell vs. continent) and to the region of interest (global vs. tropics for instance). In particular, the heterogeneity of farming practices between continents was large enough to make FARM contribute to the variability in P at that scale. We thus demonstrated how the different drivers were combined to explain the global distribution of agricultural soil P. Our study is also a promising approach to investigate the potential effect of P as a limiting factor for agroecosystems at the global scale.

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Section: A Perspective For Assessing P Limitation On Global Yieldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phosphorus in agricultural soils: drivers of its distribution at the global scale

Ringeval

Augusto

Monod

et al. 2017

Global Change Biology

133

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“…In intensive agricultural production systems increased P availability can, however, lead to serious environmental problems, and improvements in P efficiency use are urgently required through the implementation of new sustainable management strategies [3][4][5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging Gaps in the Agricultural Phosphorus Cycle from an Animal Husbandry Perspective—The Case of Pigs and Poultry

et al. 2018

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Since phosphorus (P) is an essential element for life, its usage and application across agricultural production systems requires great attention. Monogastric species such as pigs and poultry can significantly contribute to global food security but these animals remain highly dependent on the supply of mineral inorganic P in their feeds. Pig and poultry, which represent 70% of the global meat production, are also major P excretors and thus represent important sources of environmental P inputs. Balancing the P cycle within farming systems is crucial to achieve P sustainable and resilient livestock production. Therefore, the interconnection of animal feed, livestock farming, manure, and soil/aquatic ecosystems requires multidisciplinary approaches to improve P management. With regard to a sustainable agricultural P cycle, this study addresses aspects of feeding strategies and animal physiology (e.g., phase feeding, P conditioning, liquid feeding, phytase supplementation, genetics), soil agroecosystems (e.g., P cycling, P losses, P gains), reuse and recycling (e.g., manure, slaughter waste), measures of farmers' economic performance (e.g., bio-economic models), and P governance/policy instruments (e.g., P quota, P tax). To reconcile the economic and ecological sustainability of animal husbandry, the strategic objective of future research will be to provide solutions for a sufficient supply of high-quality animal products from resource-efficient and economically competitive agro-systems which are valued by society and preserve soil and aquatic ecosystems.

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“…A key feature of rP is that the low water solubility that enables its generation entails trade‐offs for its agricultural utility because low water solubility can limit P crop availability. Although not defined as such, rP has been variously proposed for potential reuse in agriculture as a means to increase P use efficiency, abate point source P mitigation costs, meet crop P demands, and/or increase resilience to fertilizer market dynamics (Cordell et al, 2011; Metson et al, 2016; Scavia et al, 2014; Sharpley et al, 2016; Simons et al, 2014). Barriers to the recovery and reuse of P in waste streams are technological, logistical, and economic, in particular, the costs of reuse that scale, often nonlinearly, with distance between rP sources and sinks (Sharpley et al, 2016; Trimmer et al, 2017; Trimmer and Guest, 2018).…”

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confidence: 99%

Toward a Regional Phosphorus (Re)cycle in the US Midwest

et al. 2019

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Redirecting anthropogenic waste phosphorus (P) flows from receiving water bodies to high P demand agricultural fields requires a resource management approach that integrates biogeochemistry, agronomy, engineering, and economics. In the US Midwest, agricultural reuse of P recovered from spatially colocated waste streams stands to reduce point‐source P discharges, meet agricultural P needs, and—depending on the speciation of recovered P—mitigate P losses from agriculture. However, the speciation of P recovered from waste streams via its chemical transformation—referred to here as recovered P (rP) differs markedly based on waste stream composition and recovery method, which can further interact with soil and crop characteristics of agricultural sinks. The solubility of rP presents key tensions between engineered P recovery and agronomic reuse because it defines both the ability to remove organic and inorganic P from aqueous streams and the crop availability of rP. The potential of rP generation and composition differs greatly among animal, municipal, and grain milling waste streams due to the aqueous speciation of P and presence of coprecipitants. Two example rP forms, phytin and struvite, engage in distinct biogeochemical processes on addition to soils that ultimately influence crop uptake and potential losses of rP. These processes also influence the fate of nitrogen (N) embodied in rP. The economics of rP generation and reuse will determine if and which rP are produced. Matching rP species to appropriate agricultural systems is critical to develop sustainable and financially viable regional exchanges of rP from wastewater treatment to agricultural end users. Core Ideas There is high potential for recovering P (rP) from point sources for agricultural reuse. rP speciation depends on recovery source and method, interacts with soils and crops. Engineering, agronomic, and economic considerations of rP are context‐specific.

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Distant Views and Local Realities: The Limits of Global Assessments to Restore the Fragmented Phosphorus Cycle

Cited by 34 publications

References 35 publications

Phosphorus in agricultural soils: drivers of its distribution at the global scale

Phosphorus in agricultural soils: drivers of its distribution at the global scale

Bridging Gaps in the Agricultural Phosphorus Cycle from an Animal Husbandry Perspective—The Case of Pigs and Poultry

Toward a Regional Phosphorus (Re)cycle in the US Midwest

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