Understanding soil phosphorus cycling for sustainable development: A review

Abstract

Soil phosphorus (P) directly impacts major sustainability outcomes, namely crop yields, water quality, and carbon sequestration. Optimally managing P to improve sustainability outcomes requires a mechanistic understanding of P availability and transfer, alongside high-resolution spatial data. However, it is unclear if current measurement techniques, models, and maps meet the demands for science-informed management. Here, we review recent advances in measuring P fluxes, quantifying P availability, and mapping soil P resources and discuss implications for sustainability outcomes. We find that the understanding of soil P availability has significantly improved but that agronomical applications and climate models are still largely based on outdated concepts. Also, we find that spatial data on soil P resources are highly uncertain, limiting the usefulness of current P maps. We highlight steps to improve existing tools and emphasize that these improvements need to go hand in hand with policy and technological development to successfully address P-related sustainable development goals.