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Magnitude of anthropogenic phosphorus storage in the agricultural production and the waste management systems at the regional and country scales

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Abstract

Based on a systematic review of 17 recent substance flow analyses of phosphorus (P) at the regional and country scales, this study presents an assessment of the magnitude of anthropogenic P storage in the agricultural production and the waste management systems to identify the potential for minimizing unnecessary P storage to reduce the input of P as mineral fertilizer and the loss of P. The assessment indicates that in case of all (6) P flow analyses at the regional scale, the combined mass of annual P storage in the agricultural production and the waste management systems is greater than 50 % of the mass of annual P inflow as mineral fertilizer in the agricultural production system, while this is close to or more than 100 % in case of half of these analyses. At the country scale, in case of the majority (7 out of 11) of analyses, the combined mass of annual P storage in the agricultural production and the waste management systems has been found to be roughly equivalent or greater than 100 % of the mass of annual P inflow as mineral fertilizer in the agricultural production system, while it ranged from 30 to 60 % in the remaining analyses. A simple scenario analysis has revealed that the annual storage of P in this manner over 100 years could result in the accumulation of a massive amount of P in the agricultural production and the waste management systems at both the regional and country scales. This study suggests that sustainable P management initiatives at the regional and country scales should put more emphasis on minimizing unwanted P storage in the agricultural production and the waste management systems.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support received from the Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (DIICCSRTE), Australia, through its Australia Awards Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships scheme. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Melbourne School of Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Australia.

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  1. Department of Infrastructure Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia

    Rubel Biswas Chowdhury

  2. Business School, University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK

    Priyanka Chakraborty

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Correspondence to Rubel Biswas Chowdhury.

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Chowdhury, R.B., Chakraborty, P. Magnitude of anthropogenic phosphorus storage in the agricultural production and the waste management systems at the regional and country scales. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 15929–15940 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6930-8

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