Source: APP STATE, 9/13/21


Phosphorus is an essential element and a critical nutrient in global food systems, where it is used in fertilizers to improve crop yields. But “the current phosphorus cycle is linear and broken on both ends,” said Dr. Christine Ogilvie Hendren, director of Appalachian State University’s Research Institute for Environment, Energy, and Economics.

The agricultural industry relies on mined, non-renewable phosphates that create toxic waste. And inefficiencies in phosphorus management result in nutrient runoff to surface waters, which can cause harmful algal blooms and poor water quality — threatening drinking water supplies and aquatic life.

App State is among nine institutions across the U.S. coordinating on research to reduce dependence on mined phosphates and to reduce the amount of phosphorus that leaches into soil and water, the National Science Foundation announced Sept. 9. The NSF Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability Center (STEPS), to be headquartered at N.C. State, will accelerate the development of sustainable technologies and practices to control, recover, reuse and manage phosphorus, the foundation said.

The STEPS center aims to facilitate a 25% reduction in human dependence on mined phosphates and a 25% reduction in phosphorus losses to soils and water resources within 25 years, leading to enhanced resilience of food systems and reduced environmental damage.

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