Phosphorous is an essential element for life. Living organisms, including humans, have small amounts and the element is crucial for driving the energetic processes of cells. In agriculture, phosphorous mined from ancient marine deposits is widely used to boost crop yields. The element also has other industrial uses.A team of researchers warns that the world’s stocks may soon be in short supply and that overuse in the industrialized world has become a leading cause of the pollution of lakes, streams, rivers & other water resources.
Phosphorus is extensively used in industry for preparation of various chemicals & daily life products. The phosphorus that comes as by-product is often released by factories into streams of water cutting through the city. What’s more, the minable global stocks of phosphorous are concentrated in just a few countries and are in decline, posing the risk of global shortages within the next 20 years.
“There is a finite amount of phosphorous in the world,” says Carpenter, a UW-Madison professor of limnology and one of the world’s leading authorities on lakes and streams. “This is a material that’s becoming more rare and we need to use it more efficiently.”
“If you have too much phosphorous, you get eutrophication,” explains Carpenter of the cycle of excessive plant and algae growth that significantly degrades bodies of fresh water. “Phosphorous stimulates the growth of algae and weeds near shore and some of the algae can contain cyanobacteria, which are toxic. You lose fish. You lose water quality for drinking.”
Deposits of phosphate, the form of the element that is mined for agriculture and other purposes, take many millions of years to form. The nations with the largest reserves of the element are the United States, China and Morocco.
References
Science Daily
Journal Reference:
- Stephen R Carpenter and Elena M Bennett. Reconsideration of the planetary boundary for phosphorus.Environmental Research Letters, 2011 DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/6/1/014009
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