Note: you are viewing the archived version of our website. Click here to go to our new site.

Follow the N and P road: High-resolution nutrient flow analysis of the Flanders region as precursor for sustainable resource management

Title
Follow the N and P road: High-resolution nutrient flow analysis of the Flanders region as precursor for sustainable resource management
Author(s)
Joeri Coppens
Erik Meers
Nico Boon
Jeroen Buysse
Siegfried E.
Year
2016
Type
Journal Article
Source
Resources, Conservation and Recycling
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.08.006
Abstract
Resource-efficient nutrient management is key to secure food production in the context of a growing global population, rising resource scarcity and increasing pressure on the environment. To map the potential towards increasing nutrient use efficiencies and reduce environmental losses, a high-resolution insight of the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) nutrient streams is pivotal. In this study, a substance flow analysis for N and P is presented for the nutrient intensive region of Flanders (6,211,065 inhabitants) in Belgium for the year 2009. A set of 160 nutrient fluxes was quantified throughout 21 economic and environmental compartments, with a particular focus on 10 waste management processes. A total nutrient load of 20 kg N cap−1 yr−1 (ca. 73% to the air and 28% to surface waters) and 0.53 kg P cap−1 yr−1 (to surface waters) is emitted to the environment; with crop and livestock production as the main contributors (49% of N and 36% of P). The food supply chain revealed a fertilizer-to-consumer efficiency of 14% for N as well as for P, with important losses embedded in waste streams such as excess manure. Advanced manure and waste processing facilities nevertheless offer the opportunity for enhanced nutrient recycling to increase the nutrient use efficiencies and reduce the dependency of inorganic fertilizers.
More Information
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.08.006

Tags

Back Incorrect or incomplete information? Click here to report this.

This website provides meta data on papers and other publications, with links to the original publications. These papers may be copyrighted or otherwise protected by the publishing journal or author. Some journals provide open access to their publications. When possible we will try to include abstracts and more details for open access publications. For more details, follow the link to the original document and/or contact the publisher/author.