Phosphorus in the Global Environment : transfers, cycles and management

Budapest, Hungary 1993
Proceedings edited by Holm Tiessen in 1995

This is the title of a synthesis volume which brings together data and concepts on the transfers and transformations of phosphorus, and comes as a result of an international synthesis workshop cosponsored by IMPHOS in 1993. The workshop integrated the results of a SCOPE project launched in 1987 to provide a global perspective on the economic and environmental consequences of the P use. More specifically, the project sought to arrive at a better understanding of the phosphorus cycle in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and the global environmental effects of P.

Part of this synthesis effort is the development of a set of recommendations addressed then to agencies, industry and policy makers, namely :

 Globally, we face today a situation of widespread under-supply of phosphorus which limits the   production of food and fibers, and a situation of regional over-supply. As a result of the coexistence of   the two distinct scenarios in different regions, policies, management and research have to address   very different problems in different regions of the globe.

 To maintain and improve P supply, it will be necessary to maintain rock phosphate exploration,   develop fertilizers and application technology for acid soils, develop integrated management for the   maintenance, improvement and (re) cycling of organic matter and associated P in agriculture, forestry   and agroforestry, and satisfy the P demand of degraded lands to support rehabilitation efforts.

 To reduce P loads, it may be necessary to separate domestic sewage from industrial waste and   storm drain discharge, to develop economical technologies for tertiary sewage treatment to recover P   rich sludge, to reduce diffuse inputs to aquatic systems by controlling agricultural P use in   combination with the management of rain and irrigation waters and soil erosion, to dispose of   domestic P residues which are in excess of agricultural P demands adequately, and to limit   polyphosphate use in detergents, but substitute materials should be carefully evaluated for their   environmental impact.

For further information, please contact
SCOPE Secretariat
51 boulevard de Montmorency
75016 Paris, France
http://www.icsu-scope.org