Global phosphorus shortage will be aggravated by soil erosion

Christine Alewell (), Bruno Ringeval, Cristiano Ballabio, David A. Robinson, Panos Panagos and Pasquale Borrelli
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Christine Alewell: University of Basel
Bruno Ringeval: ISPA, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, INRAE
Cristiano Ballabio: European Commission, Joint Research Centre
David A. Robinson: UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales
Panos Panagos: European Commission, Joint Research Centre
Pasquale Borrelli: University of Basel

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Soil phosphorus (P) loss from agricultural systems will limit food and feed production in the future. Here, we combine spatially distributed global soil erosion estimates (only considering sheet and rill erosion by water) with spatially distributed global P content for cropland soils to assess global soil P loss. The world’s soils are currently being depleted in P in spite of high chemical fertilizer input. Africa (not being able to afford the high costs of chemical fertilizer) as well as South America (due to non-efficient organic P management) and Eastern Europe (for a combination of the two previous reasons) have the highest P depletion rates. In a future world, with an assumed absolute shortage of mineral P fertilizer, agricultural soils worldwide will be depleted by between 4–19 kg ha−1 yr−1, with average losses of P due to erosion by water contributing over 50% of total P losses.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18326-7

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