International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU)

Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE)

 

SCOPE is one of a number of scientific committees established by the non-governmental International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). The membership of ICSU includes representatives from 75 national academies of science, 20 scientific unions and 29 other associates. To cover interdisciplinary activities of interest to several unions, ICSU has established 13 scientific committees of which SCOPE is one. SCOPE was established in 1969 in response to emerging environmental concerns. Currently, representatives of 35 member countries and 21 unions, scientific committees and associates participate in the work of SCOPE, which directs particular attention to the needs of developing countries. SCOPE’s first task was to prepare a report on global environmental monitoring (SCOPE 1, 1971) for the UN Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. The mandate of SCOPE is to assemble, review and assess the information available on man-made environmental changes and the effect of these changes on man; to assess and evaluate the methodologies of measurement of environmental parameters; to examine current research; and, based on the best available scientific information and constructive thought, to establish itself as a corpus of informed advice for the benefits of centres of fundamental research, and of organizations and agencies engaged in the study of the environment.

 

In 1974 SCOPE launched a major series of projects on biogeochemical cycles. Initially these projects focused on the study of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur separately. Much of the work on individual cycles was coordinated by separate SCOPE/UNEP units: carbon, under the direction of the late Prof. Egon Degens in Hamburg, Germany; nitrogen under the direction of Prof. Thomas Rosswall in Uppsala, Sweden, sulphur under the direction of Academician Mikhael Ivanov in Moscow, Russia, and phosphorus under the direction of Dr. C. Vernon Cole of Fort Collins, USA. It was understood that none of these cycles operates independently and attempts have been made to include the studies of elemental interactions in each unit’s activities. SCOPE has also sponsored efforts to unravel many of the mechanisms of natural interactions (SCOPE 17, "Some Perspectives Of The Major Biogeochemical Cycles" edited by G.E. Likens in 1981, and SCOPE 21 "The Major Biogeochemical Cycles And Their Interactions" edited by B. Bolin and R.B. Cook in 1983). Various international units have met jointly to explore specific interactions between two elemental cycles, as between carbon and sulphur (SCOPE 42, edited by Degens et al., Biogeochemistry of the Major World Rivers).

 

J.W.B. Stewart, President of SCOPE

V. Plocq-Fichelet, Executive Director

Secretariat: 51 boulevard de Montmorency
75016 Paris, France

 

Members of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the SCOPE/UNEP International Phosphorus Project

 

C.V. Cole (Chairman) NREL, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA

J.D. Beaton Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada, CN Tower, Saskatoon, SK S7K 1J5 Canada

J. Freney CSIRO, Division of Plant Industry, GPO Box 1600, Canberra, ACT 2601 Australia

J. Keith Syers Department of Agriculture & Environmental Science, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK

V. Subramanian School of Environmental Science, Jawarharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India

H. Tiessen College of Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8 Canada

J.W.B Stewart (ex officio) College of Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8 Canada

 

Preface

 

Phosphorus (P) occupies a key place among nutrients because of its relative scarcity and its essential role in all life forms. Scientific information is increasingly needed to guide the use of P in order to obtain maximum benefits without producing undesirable impacts on the environment.

In 1987 SCOPE launched a major study aimed at better understanding the "Phosphorus cycles in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems", and the global environmental effects of P. The phosphorus project organised four regional workshops in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America in which 240 scientists from 51 countries have synthesised data available in major ecosystems of each region considered; and then integrated the information at a final synthesis workshop held in Hungary in 1993. The objectives of the project were to:

 

• critically assess knowledge of the nature, sources, sinks and fluxes of P in the biosphere;

• identify mechanisms of supply of biologically active P in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems;

• provide the information needed to meet worldwide P requirements for sustainable food and fiber production while minimising adverse effects on the environment;

• evaluate the environmental effects of current and projected P use in relation to the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen, sulphur and metals;

• evaluate the transfers of P from terrestrial to aquatic and marine environments; and

• assess current and likely future trends in P use.

• explore conceptual or simulation models of phosphorus cycling to help identify gaps in knowledge and options for careful management of phosphorus resources.

 

The Scientific Advisory Committee appointed Holm Tiessen as editor of the four workshop proceedings (published by the University of Saskatchewan and by the International Rice Research Institute) and of the synthesis SCOPE volume. As with any synthesis of a global cycle with many interactions, this has been a mammoth task. This final synthesis volume stresses the fact that despite the differences in scientific approach to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, there are many similarities. There should be active dialogue between these disciplines; in fact it is essential that such dialogue take place if the quality of environments are to be preserved and we are to maintain food and fibre production, which needs phosphorus inputs. I commend this volume to you, and would thank the Scientific Advisory Committee for their sterling efforts.

 

J.W.B. Stewart

President of SCOPE

 

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Acknowledgements

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The SCOPE Phosphorus project, and this book would not have been possible without the contributions by these donors:

A.W. Mellon Foundation

American Phosphate Foundation

Australian International Development Assistance Bureau (AIDAB)

European Fertilizer Manufacturer Association (EFMA)

Fertilizer Advisory Development and Information Network for Asia & the Pacific

Food and Fertilizer Technology Centre for the Asian and Pacific Region

French Ministry of the Environment

Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas

International Atomic Energy Agency

International Council of Scientific Unions

International Development Research Centre

International Fertilizer Development Centre

International Fertilizer Industry Association

International Rice Research Institute

National Academy of Sciences /US Committee for SCOPE

National Science Foundation in the US

Polish Academy of Sciences

Potash and Phosphate Institute

Royal Society of London

Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Program

United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization

United Nations Environment Programme

University of Saskatchewan

US AID

World Phosphate Institute

 

We also gratefully acknowledge the invaluable help of the many volunteers at the Polish Academy of Sciences, The International Rice Research Institute, The Universidad Central de Venezuela, The United Nations Environment Programme and the Hungarian Academy of Science, who helped with the organisation of the workshops.