Phosphorus and Food Security

Phosphorus is a vital element for the formation of adenosine triphosphate, which supplies energy for many biochemical cellular processes in both plants and animals. Phosphorus availability is thus an important aspect for the security of the global food system. However, phosphorus cycling in the environment is a slow processes that depends on the weathering of phosphorus-rich rocks and its transport through soils and freshwater. Thus, in many instances phosphorus availability in soils is limiting the growth of crops affecting potential global nutrition and food security. Historically, agriculture has overcome this issue by extracting mineral phosphorus from phosphorus -rich rocks, which are unevenly distributed throughout the world. Furthermore, fertilizer use has historically been quite inefficient, leading to phosphorus leaching into freshwater systems and causing eutrophication. Both of these factors contribute to regional discrepancies regarding food security requiring upstream phosphorus supply, and food security potentially affecting the environment downstream.

This Research Topic will specifically address the relationship between agricultural phosphorus management and global food security, including aspects regarding nutrition, sustainability, and the environment. We will seek to address the limited availability of phosphorus for crop production and novel developments on how to better use phosphorus on a crop-specific and a regional basis. Together with our understanding on global food production and trade, this collection will thus look to further our understanding of global nutrient cycles, their exploitation for food production, and their eventual control on food security.

The Research Topic will include, field, lab, and modelling studies that tie food security and phosphorus use at the local to global scales. Specific topics include studies into improving nutrition and sustainability in diets that will affect phosphorus cycling throughout the food supply chain and throughout the environment. We welcome both original research, short commentaries on new findings, and large review-type manuscripts.

Keywords: Sustainable diets, Phosphorus cycle, Crop phosphorus uptake, Food security, Nutrition

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.