Environmental material accounting: methods and applications

Environmental Material Accounting

Phosphorus (P) for sustainable use within the framework of an infrastructural system at the national level is subsequent to a filtration-based system. The topography of Australia is flat throughout south central coast and the middle south interior of the country. The coast bordering Sydney is mountainous whilst Western Australia is hilly terrain. The filtration system from a top-down perspective will flow from the mountain and hill peaks down through a filtration system that eventually bottlenecks at the coast where P. can be collected. Below is a topographical map of Australia that depicts the mountainous area near Sydney in White, the lowest lying region in darkest green, and the higher regions in lighter green to brown/yellow to tan.

Source: Macey (2005) http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Map-from-above-shows-Australia-is-a-very-flat-place/2005/01/21/1106110947946.html

"We need to be concerned about the emerging threat of phosphorus scarcity, as well as the impacts of too much phosphorus through run-off into lakes and oceans," says Matt Kane, program director in NSF's Division of Environmental Biology, which supports the phosphorus summit." (Targeted News Service, 2011)

The sustainable use of P. is really a function of the P. collected. The analysis has estimated P. To be 1546.87 tonnes of P. The P. is distributed onto the agricultural lands in a ratio that equates to a specified yield for a specific crop. Such that P = x (y) where x is the expected crop yield and y is the crop type. So if 1000P is needed to grow 200 bushels of 1 yield of wheat then the captured P. is undergoing sustainable usage. The study does point to the eventual environmental degredation from the overuse of P. As a fertilizer.

According to Sharpley, Foy, & Withers (2000), "One of the main challenges to sustainable P. management in agriculture is balancing P. inputs in fertilizers and feed wwith P. outputs in farm produce. In areas where large numbers of animal feeding operations are present, manure P, once considered a resource, is increasingly seen as a waste." (Sharpley, Foy, Withers, 2000)

Additionally, according to Sharpley, Foy, & Withers, (2000), "Soil P tests have provided farmers with an indication of how much potentially plant-available P. is present in a soil and consequently how much fertilizer P. To apply to obtain the desired crop yields. The inputs of P. must be accurately estimated to optimize economic return to farmers and minimize P. transfer from soils to surface waters (Beegle et al., 2000; Morel et al., 2000; Sims et al., 2000)." (Sharpley, Foy, Withers, 2000)

The optimal system design is to test the soil for P. levels and determine whether the soil is deficient in P. will enable the distribution system to distribute the P. from locations that are excessive in P. To locations that are currently deficient in To capture and recycle P. that has drained off of the land and into the streams and rivers, a system of filters can be established along the waterways to capture the P. And aggregate all excess P. into a distribution network for transport to agricultural lands that lack P. The city consumption region is the economic beneficiary of this distribution system and of the food provided. City consumption is the recipient of the product derived from the sustainable use of According to Hammond & White (2008), "Consequently, the only way to recycle phosphorus in the environment is to capture it before iti s released to the sea. While reducing overall use of fertilisers is one option for minimising the environmental burden, breeding crops that utilise the nutrients in the soil and fertiliser more effectively could provide greater sustainability." (Hammond, White, 2008)

The national system should be a contingent system of measures and balances. A national database should be kept and maintained via a website where agricultural economists or farmers whom maintain their crops can access a password protected section of the website that allows them to input the P. levels of their soil. If the P. levels differ, they may enter the range value and the mean/median value. The P. collection system is going to be a system of filtration systems that collect P. In the streams and rivers as runoff from the land. The collected P. will be aggregated and transported to areas throughout the country that are lacking P. For sustainable purposes.