Improving phosphorus sustainability of sugarcane production in Brazil

Author(s)

Soltangheisi, Amin ^[1] ; Withers, Paul J. A. ^[2] ; Pavinato, Paulo Sergio ^[3] ; Cherubin, Mauricio Roberto ^[3] ; Rossetto, Raffaella ^[4] ; Do Carmo, Janaina Braga ^[5] ; da Rocha, Gustavo Casoni ^[6] ; Martinelli, Luiz Antonio ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Ctr Nucl Energy Agr, Lab Isotope Ecol, Piracicaba - Brazil

^[2] Univ Lancaster, Lancaster Environm Ctr, Lancaster - England

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Escola Super Agr Luiz de Queiroz, Dept Soil Sci, Piracicaba - Brazil

^[4] Agencia Paulista Tecnol Agronegocio, Piracicaba - Brazil

^[5] Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Dept Environm Sci, Sorocaba - Brazil

^[6] Univ Estadual Paulista, Fac Ciencias Agron, Botucatu, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Global Change Biology Bioenergy; v. 11, n. 12, p. 1444-1455, DEC 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Phosphorus (P) use in global food and bioenergy production needs to become more efficient and sustainable to reduce environmental impacts and conserve a finite and critical resource (Carpenter \& Bennett, Environmental Research Letters, 2011, 6, 014009; Springmann et al., Nature, 2018, 562, 519). Sugarcane is one crop with a large P footprint because production is centered on P-fixing soils with low P availability (Roy et al., Nature Plants, 2016, 2, 16043; Withers et al., Scientific Reports, 2018, 8, 2537). As global demand for processed sugar and bioethanol continues to increase, we advocate that improving P efficiency could become a key sustainability goal for the sugarcane industry. Here, we applied the 5R global P stewardship framework (Withers et al., Ambio, 2015, 44, 193) to identify more sustainable options to manage P in Brazilian sugarcane production. We show that current inputs of P fertilizer to the current crop area could be reduced by over 305 Gg, or 63%, over the next three decades by reducing unnecessary P fertilizer use, better utilization of recyclable bioresources and redesigning recommendation systems. Adoption of these 5R options would save the sugarcane industry in Brazil 528 US\$ million and help safeguard global food and energy security. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/11332-5 - Phosphorus dynamics and its fractions in soils under pasture-sugarcane conversion and intensification in pastureland
• Grantee: Amin Soltangheisi
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 15/18790-3 - Environmental effects of the pasture-sugarcane conversion and pasture intensification
• Grantee: Luiz Antonio Martinelli
• Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 18/09845-7 - Implications of expansion and management intensification on soil ecosystem services
• Grantee: Maurício Roberto Cherubin
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants