Keeping phosphorus on the land: Main takeaways for managing soil phosphorus in the Prairies

Abstract

Management of the phosphorus (P) in prairie soils faces a challenging dilemma. Phosphorus is critical to continued agronomic productivity. Yet, management of P in prairie landscapes is also crucial to the protection of prairie lakes and reservoirs, which are highly vulnerable to issues of nutrient pollution and harmful algal blooms. In our workshop, “Keeping Phosphorus on the Land” (February 22 & March 2, 2021), we worked to bridge the disciplines of water quality, and agronomy, and better understand issues, and opportunities within and across these areas of work as they relate to managing soil P. After two half-days of meetings that engaged researchers and practitioners in government, industry and universities, we gained a long list of ideas to act on, and a number of crucial new insights. This two-page synthesis highlights several key points that came from the workshop. Readers are directed to our full report to learn about these key points and other areas in more detail, and for a full list of recommendations resulting from the meeting.