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Science 19 June 2009:
Vol. 324. no. 5934, pp. 1519 - 1520
DOI: 10.1126/science.1170261
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Policy Forum

Agriculture:

Nutrient Imbalances in Agricultural Development

P. M. Vitousek,1,* R. Naylor,2 T. Crews,3 M. B. David,4 L. E. Drinkwater,5 E. Holland,6 P. J. Johnes,7 J. Katzenberger,8 L. A. Martinelli,9 P. A. Matson,10 G. Nziguheba,11 D. Ojima,12 C. A. Palm,11 G. P. Robertson,13 P. A. Sanchez,11 A. R. Townsend,14 F. S. Zhang15

Nutrient cycles link agricultural systems to their societies and surroundings; inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus in particular are essential for high crop yields, but downstream and downwind losses of these same nutrients diminish environmental quality and human well-being. Agricultural nutrient balances differ substantially with economic development, from inputs that are inadequate to maintain soil fertility in parts of many developing countries, particularly those of sub-Saharan Africa, to excessive and environmentally damaging surpluses in many developed and rapidly growing economies. National and/or regional policies contribute to patterns of nutrient use and their environmental consequences in all of these situations (1). Solutions to the nutrient challenges that face global agriculture can be informed by analyses of trajectories of change within, as well as across, agricultural systems.

1 Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
2 Woods Institute for the Environment and Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
3 Environmental Studies, Prescott College, Prescott, AZ 86301, USA.
4 Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
5 Department of Horticulture, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
6 National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80307, USA.
7 Aquatic Environments Research Centre, School for Human and Environmental Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AB, UK.
8 Aspen Global Change Institute, Aspen, CO 81611, USA.
9 Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura–Universidade São Paulo (CENA-USP), Avenida Centenario 303, 13416-000, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil.
10 School of Earth Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
11 The Earth Institute, Columbia University–Lamont Campus, Palisades, NY 10027, USA.
12 The Heinz Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment, Washington, DC 20009, USA.
13 Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI 49060, USA.
14 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and INSTAAR, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
15 College of Resources and Environmental Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100094 P. R. C. China.

* Author for correspondence. E-mail: vitousek{at}stanford.edu

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E-Letters:

Read all E-Letters

Agricultural N and P Runoff: A Major Pollutant of NCP Surface Water?
Edwin Ongley, et al.
Science Online, 3 Nov 2009 [Full text]
Response to E. Ongley and Y. Tao's E-Letter
Peter M. Vitousek
Science Online, 3 Nov 2009 [Full text]

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