Agendas

Session Descriptions

Session 1. Feast or Famine: Phosphorus Sustainability in Agriculture

Phosphorus (P) is a key agricultural nutrient with finite supplies. The global P need for the next century has become a major concern, especially in terms of future food security in certain regions of the world. Meanwhile, in other regions, an overabundance of phosphorus on farmed lands is driving nutrient pollution of waterways. Much of the P fertilizer supplied to crops binds to soils and accumulates over time, forming a legacy source of phosphorus, and runoff and erosion continue to deliver phosphorus from farmlands to nearby waterways. Improved management approaches are required to ensure adequacy of phosphorus fertilization while guarding against overuse. Appropriate topics for discussion during this session include but are not limited to: nutrient management planning, crop improvement, precision agriculture, manure and soil management best practices, and equitable distribution of phosphorus resources.

Session 2. AnthroPocene: Urban Phosphorus and Human Impacts

Phosphorus present in urban settings can be mobilized by storm water runoff and discharged from wastewater treatment, including septic systems. There are many opportunities to remove and recover phosphorus from storm water, wastewater, and other urban sources, such as food waste, but it can be economically and technologically challenging to do so, especially in countries with acutely limited infrastructure budgets. This session’s goal is to gain better understanding the movement of phosphorus through urban settings and how to manage it more sustainably. Appropriate topics for this session include but are not limited to: storm water management and urban runoff, wastewater treatment for phosphorus removal/recovery, waste-to-benefit recovery from food and water and other materials, and the role of phosphate in water treatment versus wastewater treatment.

Session 3. Quantifying Phosphorus Flows and Impacts for Sustainable Nutrient Management

Phosphorus is a vital element for human life and essential for food production. However, unsustainable nutrient management practices have led to water quality degradation on local, regional, national, and global scales. It is said that we can’t manage what we can’t measure. Part of the challenge of making nutrient management more sustainable is simply taking measure of phosphorus flows and impacts at various spatial and temporal scales and both scaling local data up to greater geographical scales and vice versa. Appropriate topics for discussion during this session include but are not limited to: modeling phosphorus transport at various spatial and temporal scales, developing phosphorus budgets, assessing water quality degradation due to P inputs and water quality improvements following P mitigation, and modeling how conservation measures and policy changes might impact phosphorus flows and impacts at various scales.

Session 4. Emerging Technologies for the Analysis, Capture, and Transformation of Phosphorus

Phosphorus assumes a plethora of organic and inorganic forms, both natural and human-designed, that are subject to physical, chemical, and biological transformations. This diversity of forms poses great challenges to its measurement and capture and challenges our efforts to develop more sustainable products, such as next-generation fertilizers. This session will discuss emerging technologies that address these challenges. Appropriate topics for discussion during this session include but are not limited to: analytical phosphorus measurement techniques, phosphorus sensing technology, speciation and transformation of phosphorus compounds, design of phosphorus capture materials, and formulation of novel fertilizers and amendments to improve phosphorus bioavailability and reduce phosphorus losses.