Phosphorus applications adjusted to optimal crop yields can help sustain global phosphorus reserves.

With the longevity of phosphorus reserves uncertain, distributing phosphorus to meet food production needs is a global challenge. Here we match plant-available soil Olsen phosphorus concentrations to thresholds for optimal productivity of improved grassland and 28 of the world's most widely grown and valuable crops. We find more land (73%) below optimal production thresholds than above.

A global dataset on phosphorus in agricultural soils.

Numerous drivers such as farming practices, erosion, land-use change, and soil biogeochemical background, determine the global spatial distribution of phosphorus (P) in agricultural soils. Here, we revised an approach published earlier (called here GPASOIL-v0), in which several global datasets describing these drivers were combined with a process model for soil P dynamics to reconstruct the past and current distribution of P in cropland and grassland soils. The objective of the present update, called GPASOIL-v1, is to incorporate recent advances in process understanding about soil inorganic P dynamics, in datasets to describe the different drivers, and in regional soil P measurements for benchmarking.

A Global Database of Soil Plant Available Phosphorus.

Soil phosphorus drives food production that is needed to feed a growing global population. However, knowledge of plant available phosphorus stocks at a global scale is poor but needed to better match phosphorus fertiliser supply to crop demand. We collated, checked, converted, and filtered a database of c.

Global mapping of freshwater nutrient enrichment and periphyton growth potential.

Periphyton (viz. algal) growth in many freshwater systems is associated with severe eutrophication that can impair productive and recreational use of water by billions of people. However, there has been limited analysis of periphyton growth at a global level.