Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Biogeochemistry

The fate of phosphorus

Nature Geoscience volume 9, pages 343–344 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Phosphorus is essential for food production, but it is also a key cause of eutrophication. Estimates of phosphorus flux for the past 40–70 years reveal that large river basins can experience phases of phosphorus accumulation and depletion.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Algal bloom in an agricultural drainage ditch.

© GEOGPHOTOS / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

References

  1. Elser, J. & Bennett, E. Nature 478, 29–31 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Seitzinger, S. P. et al. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 24, GB0A08 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Powers, S. M. et al. Nature Geosci. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2693 (2016).

  4. Smith, L. E. D. & Siciliano, G. Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 209, 15–25 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Garnier, J. et al. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 29, 1348–1368 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Maavara, T. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 112, 15603–15608 (2015).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Russell, M. J., Weller, D. E., Jordan, T. E., Sigwart, K. J. & Sullivan, K. J. Biogeochem. 88, 285–304 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Quinton, J. N., Govers, G., Van Oost, K. & Bardgett, R. D. Nature Geosci. 3, 311–314 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. MacDonald, G. K., Bennett, E. M, Potter, P. A. & Ramankutty, N. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 108, 3086–3091 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Julien Némery is in the LTHE UMR 5564 Laboratory, University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble 38000, France,

    Julien Némery

  2. Josette Garnier is in the METIS UMR 7619 Laboratory, University Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris 75005, France,

    Josette Garnier

Authors
  1. Julien Némery
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Josette Garnier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Julien Némery or Josette Garnier.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Némery, J., Garnier, J. The fate of phosphorus. Nature Geosci 9, 343–344 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2702

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2702

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Microbiology

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Microbiology newsletter — what matters in microbiology research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Microbiology