
Dossier
Phosphate
Plants, animals including humans cannot do without phosphate. For our food production, phosphorus is indispensable in the feed for the animals and in the fertilization of crops. The world stock is finite, so we have to deal with it economically. Moreover, it is bad for the environment if too much unused phosphate ends up in the soil. That is why Wageningen University & Research is conducting research into the efficient use of phosphate and the effects on the environment.
What is phosphorous and what is phosphate?
In nature phosphorous is most abundant in phosphate compounds. These are compounds of the mineral phosphorous (P) with oxygen (O).
Why is phosphorous so important?
Phosphorous occurs in the cell material of all living beings. It is, among other things, necessary for the energy transfer between cells, growth, development and reproduction. Thus phosphorous is one of the most important elements for all life on earth.
The stock is finite
Phosphate is extracted from phosphate ores. The easily recoverable ore stock is finite. Moreover, phosphate is not replaceable by another resource. That is why we have to deal with it efficiently. 80 percent of the extracted phosphate ends up as artificial fertilizer on land. Since the 1980s, the Netherlands and Europe have made great progress in reducing the use of artificial fertilizer.
Negative effect of accumulation in the soil
The natural phosphate levels of the various soil types are low. Additional fertilization is then necessary. However, too much accumulation of phosphate in the soil, for example on agricultural land, leads to phosphate leaching and runoff to the surface water. This is bad for water quality (e.g. algae growth) and biodiversity. One more reason to do research into closing the phosphate cycle, whereby no unused phosphate is lost from the cycle.
Phosphate is necessary for food production
Phosphate reserves will last 300 years
Eutrophication: quality of surface water
Sustainability: improving resource use efficiency
Phosphate and legislation
Publications
- Impact of cadmium levels in fertilisers on cadmium accumulation in soil and uptake by food crops (2018)
- Prediction of changes in soil cadmium contents at EU and Member State (MS) level (2018)
- Modelling the impact of the cadmium content in mineral P fertilisers on changes in soil cadmium (2018)
- Trade-offs in soil fertility management on arable farms (2017)
- A multi-level analysis of China's phosphorus flows to identify options for improved management in agriculture (2016)
- Negative global phosphorus budgets challenge sustainable intensification of grasslands (2016)
- Key role of China and its agriculture in global sustainable phosphorus management (2014)
- Crop yield response to soil fertility and N, P, K inputs in different environments: testing and improving the QUEFTS model (2014)
- Residual soil phosphorus as the missing piece in the global phosphorus crisis (2012)