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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Soil Management and Sugarbeet Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #417663
Research Project: Agricultural Management for Long-Term Sustainability and Soil Health

Location: Soil Management and Sugarbeet Research

Title: A conceptual model for dissolved P mobilization from legacy sources

Author
item NASH, DAVID - University Of Melbourne
item MC DOWELL, RICHARD - Agresearch
item Kleinman, Peter
item Moore Jr, Philip
item DUNCAN, JONATHAN - Pennsylvania State University
item HAYGARTH, PHILIP - Lancaster University
item Smith, Douglas
item IHO, ANTTI - University Of Eastern Finland

Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Quality
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/16/2025
Publication Date: 3/10/2025
Citation: Nash, D.M., Mc Dowell, R., Kleinman, P.J., Moore Jr, P.A., Duncan, J., Haygarth, P.M., Smith, D.R., Iho, A. 2025. A conceptual model for dissolved P mobilization from legacy sources. Journal of Environmental Quality. 54(2):303-318. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.70003.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.70003

Interpretive Summary: Phosphorus (P) losses in runoff from agricultural lands can be tremendously difficult to manage. A team of international scientists, including scientists from USDA-ARS, worked to develop a comprehensive model of how P is converted from a fertilizer resource for crop production into a water quality concern. The innovations in this model hold promise for existing tools that are currently used to manage agricultural P in settings around the world.

Technical Abstract: Despite tremendous progress in the science and management of agricultural phosphorus (P), progress toward mitigating P losses from agriculture has been mixed. In particular, dissolved forms of P are often the most difficult to address. Developing generalized approaches to mitigating dissolved P losses requires careful attention to the many variables that are often context-specific affecting P dissolved P mobilization and fate. In this paper we examine a conceptual model of dissolved P mobilization from agricultural systems. That model is then used to examine why current P indices may inadvertently increase dissolved P as a proportion of TP exports, especially where enhanced soil fertility is a legacy of persistent P surpluses. We suggest some structural modifications to P indices, so they better represent dissolved P export potential.