A multiscale analysis of livestock-produced phosphorus fluxes and their consequences for soil fertility
2015
Pellerin, Sylvain, | Nesme, Thomas
Livestock have major, multiscale effects on the phosphorus (P) cycle. In France, livestock produce 310,000 tons of P per year via their effluent; this is more P than is present in mineral fertilisers. Although farmers will substitute organic fertilisers for mineral fertilisers, they do not forgo the latter entirely. Because farms are becoming increasingly specialised and livestock systems and crop systems are becoming increasingly spatially separated, it is difficult to make efficient use of livestock-produced P. As a result, P inputs are in excess in areas with intensive livestock farming, but crop-specialised areas continue to rely on mineral fertilisers. To more effectively recycle livestock-produced P, it is necessary to better link crop and livestock systems (e.g., within farms or regions); develop methods of concentrating the P found in livestock effluent (e.g., to facilitate transport); and to provide better estimates of the P contained in various types of organic fertilisers.
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