Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology, Sydney, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia.
Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2012 Dec;23(6):839-45. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2012.03.010. Epub 2012 Apr 12.
Phosphorus is a critical element on which all life depends. Global crop production depends on fertilisers derived from phosphate rock to maintain high crop yields. Population increase, changing dietary preferences towards more meat and dairy products, and the continuing intensification of global agriculture supporting this expansion will place increasing pressure on an uncertain, but finite supply of high-quality phosphate rock. Growing concern about phosphorus scarcity and security, coupled with the environmental impact of phosphorus pollution, has encouraged an increase in research exploring how phosphorus is used and lost in the food system-from mine to field to fork. An assessment of recent phosphorus flows analyses at different geographical scales identifies the key phosphorus 'hotspots', for example within the mining, agriculture or food processing sectors, where efficiency and reuse can be substantially improved through biotechnological approaches coupled with policy changes.
磷是所有生命都依赖的关键元素。全球作物生产依赖于从磷矿中提取的肥料来维持高作物产量。人口增长、对更多肉类和奶制品饮食偏好的改变，以及支持这一扩张的全球农业不断集约化，将给不确定但有限的高质量磷矿供应带来越来越大的压力。人们对磷短缺和安全的日益担忧，加上磷污染对环境的影响，促使人们越来越多地研究磷在从矿山到田地再到餐桌的食品系统中是如何使用和流失的。对不同地理尺度的近期磷流分析评估确定了关键的磷“热点”，例如在采矿、农业或食品加工等部门，通过生物技术方法与政策变化相结合，可以大大提高这些部门的效率和再利用。
