Phosphorus in the Global Environment

Phosphorus plays a vital role in the productivity of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Globally, we are faced with a situation of the widespread under-supply of phosphorus, limiting the production of food and fibres as well as the nutrient cycles of many natural ecosystems. This text traces the global phosphorus cycle from weathering and the cycling of phosphorus in soils, through phosphorus fertility management in agroecosystems and the resultant global transfers of phosphorus, to its impact on eutrophication of inland, estuarine and marine waters. It discusses not only mechanisms of transformation in soils and waters, but also the phosphorus transfers within landscapes and the implications of land use patterns of phosphorus transfers. Policy issues and options of phosphorus management for global food security and pollution control are outlined as well as low input management and the reclamation of infertile tropical soils.