Transforming soil phosphorus fertility management strategies to support the delivery of multiple ecosystem services from agricultural systems

Katrina A. Macintosh; Donnacha G. Doody; Paul J. A. Withers; Richard W. McDowell; Douglas R. Smith; Laura T. Johnson; Tom W. Bruulsema; Vincent O’Flaherty; John W. McGrath

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.272

Transforming soil phosphorus fertility management strategies to support the delivery of multiple ecosystem services from agricultural systems

Katrina A. Macintosh, Donnacha G. Doody, Paul J. A. Withers, Richard W. McDowell, Douglas R. Smith, Laura T. Johnson, Tom W. Bruulsema, Vincent O’Flaherty, John W. McGrath

School of Biological Sciences

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54 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

Despite greater emphasis on holistic phosphorus (P) management, current nutrient advice delivered at farm-scale still focuses almost exclusively on agricultural production. This limits our ability to address national and international strategies for the delivery of multiple ecosystem services (ES). Currently there is no operational framework in place to manage P fertility for multiple ES delivery and to identify the costs of potentially sacrificing crop yield and/or quality. As soil P fertility plays a central role in ES delivery, we argue that soil test phosphorus (STP) concentration provides a suitable common unit of measure by which delivering multiple ES can be economically valued relative to maximum potential yield, in $ ha-1 yr-1 units. This value can then be traded, or payments made against one another, at spatio-temporal scales relevant for farmer and national policy objectives. Implementation of this framework into current P fertility management strategies would allow for the integration and interaction of different stakeholder interests in ES delivery on-farm and in the wider landscape. Further progress in biophysical modelling of soil P dynamics is needed to inform its adoption across diverse landscapes.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	90-98
Number of pages	9
Journal	Science of the Total Environment
Volume	649
Early online date	23 Aug 2018
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.272
Publication status	Published - Feb 2019

Keywords

Phosphorus; Sustainable Management; Soil Fertility; Soil Test Phosphorus; Ecosystems Services.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Transforming soil phosphorus fertility management strategies to support the delivery of multiple ecosystem services from agricultural systems
Copyright 2018 Elsevier Ltd. This manuscript is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits distribution and reproduction for non-commercial purposes, provided the author and source are cited.
Accepted author manuscript, 676 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

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Macintosh, K. A., Doody, D. G., Withers, P. J. A., McDowell, R. W., Smith, D. R., Johnson, L. T., Bruulsema, T. W., O’Flaherty, V., & McGrath, J. W. (2019). Transforming soil phosphorus fertility management strategies to support the delivery of multiple ecosystem services from agricultural systems. Science of the Total Environment, 649, 90-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.272

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title = "Transforming soil phosphorus fertility management strategies to support the delivery of multiple ecosystem services from agricultural systems",

abstract = "Despite greater emphasis on holistic phosphorus (P) management, current nutrient advice delivered at farm-scale still focuses almost exclusively on agricultural production. This limits our ability to address national and international strategies for the delivery of multiple ecosystem services (ES). Currently there is no operational framework in place to manage P fertility for multiple ES delivery and to identify the costs of potentially sacrificing crop yield and/or quality. As soil P fertility plays a central role in ES delivery, we argue that soil test phosphorus (STP) concentration provides a suitable common unit of measure by which delivering multiple ES can be economically valued relative to maximum potential yield, in $ ha-1 yr-1 units. This value can then be traded, or payments made against one another, at spatio-temporal scales relevant for farmer and national policy objectives. Implementation of this framework into current P fertility management strategies would allow for the integration and interaction of different stakeholder interests in ES delivery on-farm and in the wider landscape. Further progress in biophysical modelling of soil P dynamics is needed to inform its adoption across diverse landscapes. ",

keywords = "Phosphorus; Sustainable Management; Soil Fertility; Soil Test Phosphorus; Ecosystems Services.",

author = "Macintosh, {Katrina A.} and Doody, {Donnacha G.} and Withers, {Paul J. A.} and McDowell, {Richard W.} and Smith, {Douglas R.} and Johnson, {Laura T.} and Bruulsema, {Tom W.} and Vincent O{\textquoteright}Flaherty and McGrath, {John W.}",

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doi = "10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.272",

language = "English",

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Macintosh, KA, Doody, DG, Withers, PJA, McDowell, RW, Smith, DR, Johnson, LT, Bruulsema, TW, O’Flaherty, V & McGrath, JW 2019, 'Transforming soil phosphorus fertility management strategies to support the delivery of multiple ecosystem services from agricultural systems', Science of the Total Environment, vol. 649, pp. 90-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.272

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T1 - Transforming soil phosphorus fertility management strategies to support the delivery of multiple ecosystem services from agricultural systems

AU - Macintosh, Katrina A.

AU - Doody, Donnacha G.

AU - Withers, Paul J. A.

AU - McDowell, Richard W.

AU - Smith, Douglas R.

AU - Johnson, Laura T.

AU - Bruulsema, Tom W.

AU - O’Flaherty, Vincent

AU - McGrath, John W.

PY - 2019/2

Y1 - 2019/2

N2 - Despite greater emphasis on holistic phosphorus (P) management, current nutrient advice delivered at farm-scale still focuses almost exclusively on agricultural production. This limits our ability to address national and international strategies for the delivery of multiple ecosystem services (ES). Currently there is no operational framework in place to manage P fertility for multiple ES delivery and to identify the costs of potentially sacrificing crop yield and/or quality. As soil P fertility plays a central role in ES delivery, we argue that soil test phosphorus (STP) concentration provides a suitable common unit of measure by which delivering multiple ES can be economically valued relative to maximum potential yield, in $ ha-1 yr-1 units. This value can then be traded, or payments made against one another, at spatio-temporal scales relevant for farmer and national policy objectives. Implementation of this framework into current P fertility management strategies would allow for the integration and interaction of different stakeholder interests in ES delivery on-farm and in the wider landscape. Further progress in biophysical modelling of soil P dynamics is needed to inform its adoption across diverse landscapes.

AB - Despite greater emphasis on holistic phosphorus (P) management, current nutrient advice delivered at farm-scale still focuses almost exclusively on agricultural production. This limits our ability to address national and international strategies for the delivery of multiple ecosystem services (ES). Currently there is no operational framework in place to manage P fertility for multiple ES delivery and to identify the costs of potentially sacrificing crop yield and/or quality. As soil P fertility plays a central role in ES delivery, we argue that soil test phosphorus (STP) concentration provides a suitable common unit of measure by which delivering multiple ES can be economically valued relative to maximum potential yield, in $ ha-1 yr-1 units. This value can then be traded, or payments made against one another, at spatio-temporal scales relevant for farmer and national policy objectives. Implementation of this framework into current P fertility management strategies would allow for the integration and interaction of different stakeholder interests in ES delivery on-farm and in the wider landscape. Further progress in biophysical modelling of soil P dynamics is needed to inform its adoption across diverse landscapes.

KW - Phosphorus; Sustainable Management; Soil Fertility; Soil Test Phosphorus; Ecosystems Services.

U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.272

DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.272

M3 - Article

SN - 0048-9697

VL - 649

SP - 90

EP - 98

JO - Science of the Total Environment

JF - Science of the Total Environment

ER -

Transforming soil phosphorus fertility management strategies to support the delivery of multiple ecosystem services from agricultural systems

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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