Taking the pulse of phosphorus sustainability: challenges and solutions across the land, freshwater and marine continuum

This paper will present a state-of-the-art view on the current position on phosphorus sustainability as an introductory perspective for the session.  It is only a few decades since the world started commercial distribution of rock phosphate and in the short time it has had a significant positive influence on our lives. Phosphorus undoubtedly enhances our ability to produce crops and food, and this has been a significant player in feeding many parts of the world, but there remain challenges in distribution and access to appropriate levels of phosphate fertilizer in some soils and regions of the world. Much of the phosphorus that is applied to soil is stored away in immobile (‘organic’ and other) forms, with only a small proportion seeming to be available for uptake for plant benefits.  The challenges ahead lie in balancing and regulating the inputs of new phosphorus with recycled phosphorus forms, such as animal manures, and seeking plants that can access the normally ‘immobile’ forms. As well optimizing the sustainable use of new phosphorus in agricultural systems, another great priority lies in controlling the transfers of phosphorus from agriculture to water, where it can have a damaging influence on rivers lakes and oceans.  This is a complex ‘wicked’ problem, where the transfer from land to water moves at varying speeds, often taking decades to move through river catchments, giving rise to the popular term ‘legacy’ phosphorus.  Whilst phosphorus for food production must continue to be celebrated and implemented in an appropriate way, the sustainability challenge lies in managing and regulating the inputs of new phosphorus, making use of recycled phosphorus where we can, and in preventing the long-term transfer to the oceans.  There have been seven global sustainable phosphorus summits across most continents of the world, and next year the eighth summit #SPS8Africa is scheduled to be in Ghana, West Africa 30th September - 3rd October 2025.  We invite you to join us to help tackle some of these complex issues.   

Presentation Preference: Oral

Primary Presenter: Philip Haygarth, Lancaster University (p.haygarth@lancaster.ac.uk)

Authors:

Philip Haygarth, Lancaster University  (p.haygarth@lancaster.ac.uk)