Articles | Volume 10, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1-2018
08 Jan 2018
 | 08 Jan 2018

Global and regional phosphorus budgets in agricultural systems and their implications for phosphorus-use efficiency

Fei Lun, Junguo Liu, Philippe Ciais, Thomas Nesme, Jinfeng Chang, Rong Wang, Daniel Goll, Jordi Sardans, Josep Peñuelas, and Michael Obersteiner

Abstract. The application of phosphorus (P) fertilizer to agricultural soils increased by 3.2 % annually from 2002 to 2010. We quantified in detail the P inputs and outputs of cropland and pasture and the P fluxes through human and livestock consumers of agricultural products on global, regional, and national scales from 2002 to 2010. Globally, half of the total P inputs into agricultural systems accumulated in agricultural soils during this period, with the rest lost to bodies of water through complex flows. Global P accumulation in agricultural soil increased from 2002 to 2010 despite decreases in 2008 and 2009, and the P accumulation occurred primarily in cropland. Despite the global increase in soil P, 32 % of the world's cropland and 43 % of the pasture had soil P deficits. Increasing soil P deficits were found for African cropland vs. increasing P accumulation in eastern Asia. European and North American pasture had a soil P deficit because the continuous removal of biomass P by grazing exceeded P inputs. International trade played a significant role in P redistribution among countries through the flows of P in fertilizer and food among countries. Based on country-scale budgets and trends we propose policy options to potentially mitigate regional P imbalances in agricultural soils, particularly by optimizing the use of phosphate fertilizer and the recycling of waste P. The trend of the increasing consumption of livestock products will require more P inputs to the agricultural system, implying a low P-use efficiency and aggravating P-stock scarcity in the future. The global and regional phosphorus budgets and their PUEs in agricultural systems are publicly available at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.875296.

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Short summary
We quantified in detail the P budgets in agricultural systems and PUE on global, regional, and national scales from 2002 to 2010. Globally, half of the total P inputs into agricultural systems accumulated in agricultural soils, with the rest lost to bodies of water. There are great differences in P budgets and PUE in agricultural systems on global, regional, and national scales. International trade played a significant role in P redistribution and P in fertilizer and food among countries.
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