Phosphorus stocks and flows in an intensive livestock dominated food system

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dc.contributor.authorRothwell, S.A.
dc.contributor.authorDoody, Donnacha
dc.contributor.authorJohnston, Christopher
dc.contributor.authorForber, K.J.
dc.contributor.authorCencic, O.
dc.contributor.authorRechberger, H.
dc.date.accessioned2020-09-18T10:46:24Z
dc.date.available2020-09-18T10:46:24Z
dc.date.issued2020-07-31
dc.descriptionPublication history: Accepted - 21 July 2020; Published online - 31 July 2020.en_US
dc.description.abstractCurrent use and management of phosphorus (P) in our food systems is considered unsustainable and considerable improvements in the efficiency of P use are required to mitigate the environmental impact of poor P stewardship. The inherent low P use efficiency of food production from animals means food systems dominated by livestock agriculture can pose unique challenges for improving P management. This paper presents the results of a substance flow analysis for P in the Northern Ireland (NI) food system for the year 2017 as a case study for examining P stewardship in a livestock dominated agricultural system. Imported livestock feed was by far the largest flow of P into the NI food system in 2017 (11,700 t ± 1300 t) and P from livestock excreta the largest internal flow of P (20,400 ± 1900t). The P contained in livestock slurries and manures alone that were returned to agricultural land exceeded total crop and grass P requirement by 20% and were the largest contributor to an annual excess soil P accumulation of 8.5 ± 1.4 kg ha−1. This current livestock driven P surplus also limits the opportunities for P circularity and reuse from other sectors within the food system, e.g. wastewater biosolids and products from food processing waste. Management of livestock P demand (livestock numbers, feed P content) or technological advancements that facilitate the processing and subsequent export of slurries and manures are therefore needed.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThis paper was produced as part of the RePhoKUs project (The role of phosphorus in the sustainability and resilience of the UK food system) funded by BBSRC, ESRC, NERC, and the Scottish Government under the UK Global Food Security research programme. Funding was provided by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (Grant No. BB/R005842/1).en_US
dc.identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12518/176
dc.identifier.citationRothwell, S. A., Doody, D. G., Johnston, C., Forber, K. J., Cencic, O., Rechberger, H. and Withers, P. J. A. (2020) ‘Phosphorus stocks and flows in an intensive livestock dominated food system’, Resources, Conservation and Recycling. Elsevier BV, 163, p. 105065. doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105065.en_US
dc.identifier.issn0921-3449
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105065
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherElsevieren_US
dc.rights© 2020 The Authors. This is an open access article published under a Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the author and source are cited.en_US
dc.subjectPhosphorusen_US
dc.subjectSubstance flow analysisen_US
dc.subjectFood systemen_US
dc.subjectLivestocken_US
dc.subjectNorthern Irelanden_US
dc.titlePhosphorus stocks and flows in an intensive livestock dominated food systemen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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