Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2025
06:26
Capturing Flow-weighted Water and Suspended Particulates from Agricultural Canals During Drainage Events
Published on: November 7, 2017
16.2K
Agricultural trade impacts global phosphorus use and partial productivity
Zhaohai Bai1,2, Ling Liu3, Michael Obersteiner4
1Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Hebei Key Laboratory of Soil Ecology, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetic and Developmental Biology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, China. baizh1986@126.com.
Nature Food
|August 7, 2023
Summary
Global agricultural trade boosts phosphorus productivity but risks wasteful use. Optimizing trade and recycling phosphorus are crucial for sustainable resource management.
Area of Science:
- Agricultural Science
- Environmental Science
- Resource Management
Background:
- The global phosphorus (P) cycle is critical for agriculture, but its flow through traded goods is poorly understood.
- Phosphorus is a finite resource, making efficient use and recycling essential for food security and environmental sustainability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the spatio-temporal distribution and productivity of phosphorus in global agricultural trade from 1961-2019.
- To assess the impact of international trade on phosphorus use efficiency in crop and livestock production.
- To identify risks and opportunities for optimizing phosphorus resource management within global agricultural systems.
Main Methods:
- Utilized global trade matrices to analyze phosphorus partial factor productivity (PFP) for crop and livestock products across 200 countries.
- Quantified the cumulative contributions of agricultural trade to P export and import over six decades.
- Evaluated trends in trade optimality and P loss in imported agricultural products.
Main Results:
- International agricultural trade has historically enhanced global PFP, theoretically saving significant amounts of P in fertilizers and feed.
- However, recent trends show a decline in trade optimality, with products increasingly moving from low to high PFP countries.
- A substantial amount of P embedded in imported agricultural products is lost to the environment without effective recycling.
Conclusions:
- While agricultural trade has improved P efficiency, current patterns risk wasteful P resource utilization.
- Integrated crop-livestock systems and P-recycling technologies are vital for mitigating P losses and promoting circular economy principles.
- Urgent strategies are needed to re-optimize global phosphorus trade flows and enhance recycling for sustainable agriculture.
Related Concept Videos
01:21The Phosphorus Cycle
37.5K
Unlike carbon, water, and nitrogen, phosphorus is not present in the atmosphere as a gas. Instead, most phosphorus in the ecosystem exists as compounds, such as phosphate ions (PO43-), found in soil, water, sediment and rocks. Phosphorus is often a limiting nutrient (i.e., in short supply). Consequently, phosphorus is added to most agricultural fertilizers, which can cause environmental problems related to runoff in aquatic ecosystems.
37.5K
01:16What is Climate?
18.6K
Climate refers to the prevailing weather conditions in a specific area over an extended period. As the saying goes, “Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get.” Climate is influenced by geographic factors, such as latitude, terrain, and proximity to bodies of water.
18.6K
01:06Primary Production
23.7K
The total amount of energy acquired by primary producers in an ecosystem is called gross primary production (GPP). However, of this energy, producers use some for metabolic processes, and some is lost as heat, decreasing the amount of energy available to the next trophic level. The remaining usable amount of energy is called the net primary productivity (NPP). In terrestrial ecosystems, NPP is driven by climate, while light penetration and nutrient availability drive NPP in aquatic ecosystems.
23.7K
02:35Key Elements for Plant Nutrition
18.8K
Like all living organisms, plants require organic and inorganic nutrients to survive, reproduce, grow and maintain homeostasis. To identify nutrients that are essential for plant functioning, researchers have leveraged a technique called hydroponics. In hydroponic culture systems, plants are grown—without soil—in water-based solutions containing nutrients. At least 17 nutrients have been identified as essential elements required by plants. Plants acquire these elements from the...
18.8K
01:27Microorganisms in Agriculture and Food industry
87
Microorganisms play a crucial role in agriculture and the food industry, contributing to soil fertility, crop protection, and food production. Their functions range from nitrogen fixation and biopesticide production to fermentation and food preservation, making them indispensable to sustainable farming and food safety.Role in AgricultureNitrogen-fixing bacteria, such as Rhizobium (symbiotic) and Azotobacter (free-living), convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia through biological nitrogen...
87
01:57Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
25.7K
Though evaporation from plant leaves drives transpiration, it also results in loss of water. Because water is critical for photosynthetic reactions and other cellular processes, evolutionary pressures on plants in different environments have driven the acquisition of adaptations that reduce water loss.
25.7K