Optimising Phosphorus Management for the Delivery of Catchment Ecosystem Services. Doody D.G., et al

Transcription

1 Optimising Phosphorus Management for the Delivery of Catchment Ecosystem Services Doody D.G., et al

2 Co-Authors Graham MacDonald Katrina Macintosh Paul Withers Helen Jarvie Richard McDowell Phil Haygarth Andrew Sharpley Michael Weintraub Dana Cordell Doug Smith Laura Johnston Tom Bruulsema Val Smith Steve Power Jianbo Shen Tiequan Zhang Michael Miyittah Brent Jacobs

3 References MacDonald GK et al. (2016). Guiding phosphorus stewardship for multiple ecosystem services. Ecosyst. Health Sustain. 2(12). Doody DG et al. (2016). Optimizing land use for the delivery of catchment ecosystem services. Front. Ecol. Environ. 14(6): MacIntosh et al. (In Review) Front. Ecol. Environ.

4 Overview Introduction Sustainable Intensification Prioritising catchment and ecosystem services UK P vulnerability assessment

5 Acknowledgements 4 months sabbatical with USDA-ARS Sustainable P management of dairy farms Phosphorus Index P Research Coordination Network Sustainable P Alliance Arizona State University

6 Leading provider of scientific research and services to government, non-governmental and commercial organisations

7

8 Agri-Environment Branch Natural Resource Management

9 Agriculture & Water Quality in Northern Ireland

10 Northern Ireland Agriculture 75% of Northern Ireland is agricultural land (94% Grassland, 6% Arable) Average farm size 40.7 ha 82% of farms have cattle Economically dairy is the most important sector Grass based Moderate milk output ~ 7000 litres/cow Contributing 52% of the gross margin 70% of NI agricultural land is classed as EU Less Favourable Area

11 Range of Impacts on Waterbodies

12 Eutrophication - Lakes Lough Neagh 386 km 2 74% of monitored lakes classed as eutrophic or hypertrophic. Lough Neagh is hypertrophic Lough Erne is eutrophic Upper and Lower Lough Erne 140 km 2

13 Eutrophication - Rivers 39% Below Good Status

14 Legacy Soil Phosphorus

15 Phosphorus Loss in Runoff Index 2 Index 3 Index 4 Cassidy et al (2016)

16 Phosphorus Loss in Runoff Index 2 Index 3 Index 4

17 Reduction in Diffuse Load Required (EA Report, Progress towards the WFD Objectives The role of agriculture)

18 Agri-Food Industry Expansion Going for Growth Strategy Increase sales by 60% Increase sales outside of NI by 75% Increase employment by 15,000 Increase added value 1 billion Sustainable Land-use Management Strategy

19 Sustainable Intensification? Sustainable Intensification means simultaneously improving the productivity and environmental management of agricultural land. Institute of European Environmental Policy 2014

20 Where Can Sustainable Intensification be Achieved?

21 Increasing Productivity Extensive Agriculture Intensive Agriculture Decreasing Environmental Impact (Foy & Kirk 1995)

22 Catchment Buffering Capacity Assessing Buffering Capacity End Member Mixing Catchment P Fluxes P Mass Balance Others? Current State (Doody et al 2016)

23 Variation in Catchment Response (Coop 1965; McDowell & Wilcock 2008)

24 Catchment Component Indicator(s) of Phosphorus Buffering Capacity Factors Impacting on Phosphorus Buffering Capacity Biogeochemical storage capacity Adsorption capacity (e.g Qmax) Parent material Soil ph Soil organic matter Erosion vulnerability Legacy soil P Manure and fertilizer applications Liming Tillage Legacy sediment P Hydrological storage capacity Residence time Q5/Q95 discharge Effective rainfall Drainage class (e.g HOST) Hydrological connectivity Bedrock storage Specific runoff Artificial Field Drainage Soil Compaction Wetland destruction Removal of riparian zones. Loss of Floodplains Groundwater Abstractions Impoundment Biomass storage and ecosystem resistance (or resilience) Gross primary production Stream order Trophic status Ecological connectivity Agricultural productivity River alterations Dredging

25 What if Sustainable Intensification is not Possible?

26 (Doody et al 2016)

27 Phosphorus Ecosystem Services Cascade (MacDonald et al 2016)

28 Set Target Will vary as a function of society s aspirations for the water body Framework for Prioritisation Compliance Gap Buffering Capacity Quantify the compliance gap between the current and desired water quality or ecological condition How well buffered is the catchment in relation to the compliance gap. Has the tipping point been exceeded? Adaptive Capacity Assess the ability of catchment communities to make the necessary adaptations to achieve the target Priority Which ecosystem service (s) should be prioritised? (Doody et al 2016)

29 Prioritisation Scenarios Criteria Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Compliance Gap Large Moderate Small Buffering capacity Poor Medium High Tipping point Exceeded At Approaching Adaptive capacity Low Limited High Prioritise Agriculture Conduct further analysis Aquatic ecosystems Water Quality Target Continual improvement? Reference Condition (Doody et al 2016)

30 Soil P Fertility Strategies for Multiple Ecosystem Services Prioritisation at Farm Scale MacIntosh et al (In review) Frontier of Ecology and Environment

31 (MacIntosh et al. In review)

32 Soil P Fertility Strategies for Multiple Ecosystem Services Only calibrated for crop yield response New soil tests required? Accounting for soil heterogeneity Best fertiliser sources for different ES? Shift advice from yield (ton/ha) to profit ($/ha)

33 (MacIntosh et al. In review)

34 THE ROLE OF PHOSPHORUS IN THE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY OF THE UK FOOD SYSTEM

35 Project Overview AFBI, Bangor University Wales; Leeds University, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology; Sydney Technology University 1.5 m UK Research Council Funding The Project will: Develop metrics to characterize the effects of catchment heterogeneity on the response of different ES to P inputs and the vulnerability to P shocks Identify adaptation strategies at farm and catchment scale (for both sustainability and vulnerability) Conduct a P vulnerability and sustainability assessment for the UK food system and identify priorities for a National Adaptation Strategy

36 Farm-scale Cost effectiveness Profit Maximisation Adaptive Capacity Catchment Scale Catchment Buffering Capacity Resource Inventory Analysis Adaptive Capacity National Adaptation Strategy for UK Food System National Scale P Vulnerability Assessment FAPR-UK Model Adaptive Capacity Regional Scale Substance Flow Analysis FAPRI-UK Model Adaptive Capacity

37 Thank you!