InnoSoilPhos - Innovative solutions to sustainable Soil Phosphorus management
Project in the program "BonaRes - Boden als nachhaltige Ressource für die Bioökonomie" supported by the Federal Ministery of Education
Project executing organization: Jülich
Objectives of InnoSoilPhos
Mineral P-fertilizers are on the one side essential for nutrition of agricultural plants but on the other hand can also cause eutrophication of water bodies. Mineral P-fertilizers are mainly produced from rock phosphate, a limited resource. Due to this limitation future agriculture is facing a huge challenge, namely to ensure the nutrition of humans and the income of farmers as well as limiting the ecological footprint, which is challenging the society as a whole. Therefore, the project InnoSoilPhos intents to provide solutions to this problem in soil and agricultural sciences but also governance options.
In Phases I and II, InnoSoilPhos involved 10 workgroups that tackled the P issue at four different scales: (I) the atomic and molecular scale, (II) the plot-to-field scale, (III) the field-to-catchment scale, and (IV) the societal scale. In addition to University of Rostock (UR) these institutions were involved: the Brandenburgische Technical University Cottbus - Senftenberg (BTU), the Julius-Kühn-Institute (JKI), the TU University of Munich (TUM), the Research Center Jülich (FZJ), the Research Unit Sustainability and Climate Policy Leipzig (FNK) and the Bergische Universität Wuppertal (BUW, Phase II).
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Scale (I):
- Fundamental understanding of P-fixation and desorption on soil matrix by quantum-chemical modeling
- The effects of soil microorgansims on P-binding and activation
- Spatial heterogeneity, P-sorption, -stocks & possible –activation/usage in subsoil
Scale (II):
- Alternative P fertilizers, e.g., bone chars are developed and evaluated by pot and field experiments
- Effectiveness of P-fertilization is evaluated by metastudies to prove and improve fertilization recommendations
Scale (III):
- Hot spots and hot moments of P leaching from soil in experimental catchment
Scale (IV):
- Synthesis of above results, in-deep-analysis of alternative P fertilizers like bone chars
The third phase of InnoSoilPhos is organized according to four stakeholder-oriented scientific goals, to which the WPs of consortium members contribute. These goals logically follow from the scientific achievments of InnoSoilPhos-Phases I and II.
Main goal 1:
Improvement of microbial P-mobilization
Main goal 2: Design, production and testing of „new“ smart P fertilizers from recycling materials
Main goal 3: P in integrated sustainable nutrient management
Main goal 4: Reduction of environmentally harmful P-losses at field scale
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