Baltic Forum for Innovative Technologies for Sustainable Manure Management
KNOWLEDGE REPORT
Plant Requirement and Zero Balance – Soil P
Development under Two P Input Scenarios in
Finland
By Riitta Lemola, Risto Uusitalo, Minna Sarvi, Kari Ylivainio and Eila Turtola
Baltic Manure WP4 Standardisation of Manure Types with Focus on Phosphorus
December 2013
Baltic Manure WP4 Standardisation of Manure Types with Focus on Phosphorus
Plant requirement and zero balance – soil P
development under two P input scenarios in
Finland
By Riitta Lemola, Risto Uusitalo, Minna Sarvi, Kari Ylivainio and Eila Turtola
The project is partly financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund
1
List of Contents
1.
Introduction.................................................................................................................................... 3
2.
Material and methods ..................................................................................................................... 3
3. Scenarios of different P use ................................................................................................................. 6
3.1. Whole country ............................................................................................................................. 6
3.2. Coastal regions of the Baltic Sea.................................................................................................... 8
4.
Discussion......................................................................................................................................14
5.
Literature.......................................................................................................................................16
The project is partly financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund
2
1. Introduction
Although agricultural land use in Finland covers only 7% of the total land area, the losses of phosphorus
from agriculture are approximately 60% of the anthropogenic phosphorus loading to watercourses
(Vuorenmaa et al. 2002). Phosphorus loading comprises of particulate phosphorus (PP) and dissolved
phosphorus (DP). While the losses of both phosphorus forms are dependent on soil phosphorus
concentration, DP loading is more directly related to it (Uusitalo and Jansson 2002, Uusitalo and Aura 2005,
Turtola and Yli-Halla 1998) than PP, which is more dependent on soil erosion.
In Finland, agronomic P status in soils (soil test P, STP) has been routinely tested by acid ammonium acetate
method (pH 4.65) since the 1950s (Vuorinen and Mäkitie 1955). STP values were more than doubled since
1955 as described by Ylivainio et al. (2014), who compiled data from published summaries of STP analysed
in the biggest commercial soil test laboratory during different decades. According to Saarela (2002) the
pool of total P in the plough layer of Finnish cultivated mineral soils is about 3000 kg ha-1, about 900 kg ha-1
of which has been accumulated during the last seventy decades. Surplus P (input minus output) peaked in
1970s (26 kg ha-1), and since then it has decreased significantly due to reduced fertilization and increased P
outputs in crop yields (Antikainen et al. 2008). In 1995 the average P surplus in Finland was 18.1 kg ha-1
while in 2005-2009 it was decreased to 4.2 kg ha-1 (Salo and Lemola 2010). For farmers who today compete
in the market with imported products, the saving and efficient use of fertilizer P is essential. It is also
important for the society as a whole, because current economically exploitable P reserves are estimated to
deplete in about 60 to 130 years (Steen 1998).
In 2009, participation to the Finnish Agri-Environmental Program (FAEP) covered about 90% of the active
farms and 92% of the cultivated field area (Aakkula et al. 2010). The Program sets upper limits of P
fertilization by crop and soil P status. However, those limits are much higher than should be recommended
according to recent studies by Valkama et al. (2011) if attempting to achieve 95% of the maximum yield.
While Ylivainio et al. (2014) calculated the need for P fertilization at municipality level and in Centres for
Economic Development (ELY Centres) according to the plant P requirement adopted from Valkama et al.
(2011), the purpose of the present work was to calculate the required P fertilization and the consequent
STP change in 20 years if plants were fertilized according to their P requirement. Calculations were also
made with zero-balance scenario in which the fertilization was equivalent to P removed in harvested crop
(grazing included) irrespective of STP status. The use and sparing of P fertilizers was also viewed in both
scenarios. It shoud be noted, however, that these calculations do not take into account the prices of P and
harvested crops, and thus do not indicate the most profitable P use which would in some cases be still
lower than in these calculations.
2. Material and methods
STP data utilized in calculations was obtained from the project ‘Follow-up study on the impacts of agrienvironmental measures in Finland (MYTVAS 3)’. The data contained STP value, soil texture and organic
matter content at the municipality level of 1 008 302 samples analyzed by five commercial soil test
laboratories in Finland in 2005-2009. A more detailed description of the data is given by Ylivainio et al.
(2014).
The municipality-specific STP data was aggregated according to the administrative boundaries of ELY
Centres in 2012 (TIKE). Subsequently the data was divided into three groups on the basis of soil texture.
The project is partly financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund
3
The groups were clay soils, coarse textured mineral soils (sandy soils and loamy/silty soils) and organic soils.
STP values were rounded up to the nearest full number, and the frequencies of each rounded STP value
were calculated. Because the data did not include information of field size related to an individual STP
value, the frequencies of STP values were converted into cultivated hectares in the following way. The
utilized agricultural area (fallow excluded) of the region in 2011 was divided by the number of STP values.
The obtained quotient was then multiplied by the frequency of each rounded STP value. Calculations were
made for the whole country and the ELY Centres of Southeast Finland (SEF), Uusimaa (UUS), Southwest
Finland (SWF) and Ostrobothnia (OSB) which are all situated in the coastal region of the Baltic Sea. SWF has
intensive pig and poultry production, and OSB dairy cattle and fur production, while SEF and UUS have
mainly cereal production.
Biological plant P requirement was evaluated according to Valkama et al. (2011), with the target of 95% of
the maximum yield. Then phosphorus fertilization for cereals and grasses was not required if STP was
higher than 6, 10, 15 mg l -1 in clay soils, coarse textured mineral soils and organic soils, respectively,
because yield responses at higher STP concentrations than these are unlikely (Valkama et al.2011) .
In the scenario of zero-balance, P requirement was set equivalent to P removed in harvested crop (Table 1)
and thus independent of STP. Yield P removal of cereals and grasses ( kg ha-1) was calculated according to
regional yield statistics in 2005–2009 (Yearbook of farm statistics 2006, 2008, 2009) and P concentrations of
different plants (MTT 2013). The pasture yield was obtained from farm advisor organization Pro Agria’s
livestock monitoring data (personal communication with Sari Peltonen). The utilized agricultural area
(fallow excluded) of the regions was assumed to grow only cereals and grasses in the same ratio as those
plant groups were grown on the region in 2005-2009. Harvested crop contained an average of 12.2-14.2 kg
P ha-1 in 2005-2009 (Table 1). Regionally calculated withdrawals varied according to obtained yields,
according to the area of cultivated plant species in the different areas, and according to the different plant
P concentrations. Mineral fertilizer and manure P use in the regions and the whole country in 2011 were
obtained from MYTVAS 3 project (Salo and Lemola 2010).
Table 1. Phosphorus in harvested crop (kg ha-1) in 2005-2009..
Region
Finland
Southeast Finland (SEF)
Uusimaa (UUS)
Southwest Finland (SWF)
Ostrobothnia (OSB)
Harvested P in
crop
kg ha-1
12.90
12.22
13.09
14.24
13.65
Calculations were made for STP values lower than 500 mg l -1 at interval of five years from the starting years
(2005-2009) up to twenty years onward. The yield P removal was assumed to be unchanged throughout the
calculations. For the zero-balance scenario, fertilization was independent of STP. In plant P requirement
scenario, in turn, fertilization was adjusted at every five-year intervals along with changes in STP. Soil STP
values were estimated to change according to the equations developed at MTT (Uusitalo et al. manuscript):
The project is partly financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund
4
STPt = -A/B + (A/B + STP 0) exp (Bt)
where:
A = a + bPbal
B = cPbal + d
STP t = the STP concentration at time t
STP0 =initial STP value
Pbal = phosphorus balance (input minus output)
a-d = soil type dependent constants
In the calculations time (t) is expressed as years, P balance is expressed as the average annual P balance (kg
P ha-1 yr-1), and STP carries the unit mg P Ac l -1 of soil, as determined by acidic (pH 4.65) ammonium acetate
method of Vuorinen and Mäkitie (1955). The constants a–d are soil type dependant fitting constants, with
unique values for the used soil type division: clay soils, coarse textured mineral soils (sandy soils,
loamy/silty soils) and organic soils.
In the whole country 60% of agricultural soils are coarse textured mineral soils whereas in UUS and SWF
regions they are mainly clay soils (Table 2). In SEF and OSB coarse textured mineral soils dominate and in
OSB clay soils are in minority.
Table 2. Number and share of soil samples in different textural classes in Finland and four regions of the ELY
Centres.
Region
Soil texture
Number of
samples
Finland
Clay soils
Coarse textured mineral soils
Organic soils
273165
605076
130056
Southeast Finland
(SEF)
Clay soils
Coarse textured mineral soils
Organic soils
22792
36099
5865
Uusimaa
(UUS)
Clay soils
Coarse textured mineral soils
Organic soils
59398
19129
3121
Southwest Finland
(SWF)
Clay soils
Coarse textured mineral soils
Organic soils
91902
24243
3771
Ostrobothnia
(OSB)
Clay soils
Coarse textured mineral soils
Organic soils
10318
58033
15222
Percentage
of samples,
%
27
60
13
35
56
9
73
23
4
77
20
3
12
69
18
The project is partly financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund
5
3. Scenarios of different P use
3.1. Whole country
The average STP was 13.0 mg l -1 in 2005-2009, and 99% of the STP values were lower than 73 mg l -1.
Fertilization scenarios according to P requirement and zero-balance led to clearly lower average STP values
after 20 years (Table 3, Figure 1). However, after 20 years there was only 0.5 mg l -1 difference in the mean
STP values between the two scenarios, but the distributions of the values were very different (Figure 2).
Fertilization according to plant P requirement concentrated STP values sharply near 5 mg l -1 , while in zerobalance STP values were more broadly distributed. After 20 years of fertilization, 99% of STP values were
lower than 43 and 47 mg l -1 in the scenarios of plant P requirement and zero-balance, respectively.
Table 3. Average STP values, quartiles and 99th percentiles of the distributions of STP values in 2005-2009
and as estimated after 20 years of different fertilization in Finland.
Finland
STP, mg l -1
measured
STP after 20 years, mg l -1,
predicted
2005-2009
Plant P
requirement
Q25
Q50
Q75
99th percentile
Average
6
9
15
73
13.0
Zero-balance
of P
5
5
7
43
7.6
3
6
9
47
8.1
Finland
STP, mg l-1
14
12
10
8
Plant P requirement
6
Zero-balance of P
4
2
0
at
present
after 5
years
after 10
years
after 15
years
after 20
years
Figure 1. Average STP values at present (2005-2009) and as estimated after 20 years of different fertilization
in Finland.
The project is partly financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund
6
Figure 2. The distribution of STP values at present (2005-2009) and as estimated after 20 years of different
fertilization in Finland.
In 2011, 28.6 million kg of phosphorus was used annually in fertilization, whereof manure P made up 17.5
million kg (Figure 3). Phosphorus fertilization was about 1.7-fold compared to plant P requirement in 2011
and 12% higher than the amount of P in harvested crops. In the calculations concerning 20 years onward
from the present date STP gradually decreased, which led to a gradual increase in P requirement by plants
(Figure 3).
After 15 years, P requirement was slightly higher than P in harvested crop. However, after 20 years plant P
requirement was still lower than the amount actually used in 2011 although STP was decreased. If
fertilization would be made according to plant requirement 142.7 million kg P (25.0%) could be saved
during 20 years compared to the current practice. In the 20 years manure P can cover 81.8% of the fertilizer
need if it is spread only to the fields which require P fertilization. Mineral P would be needed 78.2 million kg
as supplementary fertilizer during the 20 years. If P removed in harvested crop is only replaced (zerobalance), P fertilization can be reduced by 59.2 million kg P (10.4%) compared to current fertilization.
However, as a long-standing practice it may lead to yield reduction, since soils with very l ow STP would be
under-fertilized.
The project is partly financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund
7
35.0
Finland
P fertilization, million kg
30.0
25.0
20.0
15.0
Plant P requirement
10.0
Zero-balance of P
Present mineral P
5.0
Present manure P
0.0
at present
after 5 years
after 10 years
after 15 years
after 20 years
Figure 3. Phosphorus fertilization according to plant requirement and zero-balance and actual fertilization in
2011 (= at present).
3.2. Coastal regions of the Baltic Sea
The four ELY regions along the coast of Baltic Sea differed from each other for their P use and present STP
values. Average STP values in 2005-2009 were 11.2 mg l -1 in SEF and UUS (Table 4, Figure 4), while in
regions of intensive animal production SWF and OSB average STP values were 17.2 mg l -1 and 16.4 mg l -1,
respectively. There were clearly more samples with excessively high STP values in the latter two regions.
Twenty years of P fertilization according to the scenarios of plant requirement and zero balance would
decrease STP values in all four regions. Decreases in STP would be more pronounced in SWF and OSB than
in the other two regions. Moreover, in SWF and OSB regions STP values would decrease more with the
scenario of plant P requirement than that of the zero-balance. This is due to fertilization of high STP soils
when applying P in zero-balance, as compared to the other scenario with no fertilization of high STP soils. In
SEF and UUS the both scenarios resulted in nearly equal reduction of average STP indicating practically
identical potential for DP load reduction. In the different region, distribution of STP values reacted to
different fertilization strategies similarly as in Finland as a whole. Phosphorus fertilization according to
plant requirement concentrated STP values in a narrow peak near value 5 mg l -1, while with zero-balance
scenario STP values were more broadly distributed (Figure 5).
The project is partly financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund
8
Table 4. Average STP values, quartiles and 99th percentiles of the distributions of STP values. Numbers are
shown for the 2005-2009 period (= at present), and as estimated after 20 years of different fertilization
scenarios in ELY Centres of Southeast Finland (SEF), Uusimaa (UUS), Southwest Finland (SWF) and
Ostrobothnia (OSB).
At
present
STP, mg l -1
Southeast Finland (SEF)
Q25
Q50
Q75
99th percentile
Average
Uusimaa (UUS)
Q25
Q50
Q75
99th percentile
Average
Southwest Finland (SWF)
Q25
Q50
Q75
99th percentile
Average
Ostrobothnia (OSB)
Q25
Q50
Q75
99th percentile
Average
Plant P
Zero-balance
requirement
of P
STP after 20 years, mg l -1
6
8
13
51
11.2
5
5
7
29
6.9
3
6
8
33
7.1
6
8
13
55
11.2
5
5
6
34
7.0
3
6
8
37
7.5
7
10
19
110
17.2
5
5
10
70
10.3
4
7
13
74
11.6
7
10
18
105
16.4
5
5
8
62
8.8
3
6
11
67
9.9
The project is partly financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund
9
Uusimaa
18
18
16
16
14
14
12
12
STP, mg l-1
STP, mg l-1
Southeast Finland
10
8
10
8
6
6
4
4
2
2
0
0
at
present
after 5
years
after 10
years
after 15
years
after 20
years
at
present
18
18
16
16
14
14
12
12
10
8
after 15
years
after 20
years
10
8
6
6
4
4
2
2
0
at
present
after 10
years
Ostrobothnia
STP, mg l-1
STP, mg l-1
Southwest Finland
after 5
years
0
after 5
years
after 10
years
after 15
years
after 20
years
at
present
after 5
years
after 10
years
after 15
years
after 20
years
Figure 4. Average STP values at present and estimated after 20 years of different P fertilization scenarios in
ELY Centres of Southeast Finland (SEF), Uusimaa (UUS), Southwest Finland (SWF) and Ostrobothnia (OSB).
The project is partly financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund
10
Southeast Finland
Uusimaa
100000
60 000
50 000
80000
Hectares
Hectares
40 000
30 000
60000
40000
20 000
20000
10 000
0
0
0
10
20
30
40
0
10
STP, mg l-1
Southwest Finland
40
Ostrobothnia
140000
60000
120000
50000
100000
40000
Hectares
Hectares
20
30
STP, mg l-1
80000
60000
30000
20000
40000
20000
10000
0
0
0
10
20
STP, mg l-1
Plant P requirement
30
40
0
10
Zero-balance of P
20
STP, mg l-1
30
40
At present
Figure 5. The distribution of STP values at present and as estimated after 20 years of d ifferent P fertilization
in ELY Centres of Southeast Finland (SEF), Uusimaa (UUS), Southwest Finland (SEF) and Ostrobothnia (OSB).
The project is partly financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund
11
In 2011 fertilization in SWF was 2-fold higher than the plant P requirement i.e., production of 95% of the
yield maximum (Figure 6). After 20 years with scenario of ‘plant P requirement’, nearly equal amount of P
would be needed as was used in 2011, but the STP values were much reduced. Manure P would be enough
to meet plant requirements in the first ten years after which the region would need imported manure P
from other regions. We calculated that during 20 years at least 23.8 million kg of P could be spared with
fertilization according to their plant P requirement compared to the current practice, whereas savings of P
would be even higher than that, 29.7 million kg, when compared to the zero-balance scenario.
In OSB current fertilization was 3.1-fold compared to plant P requirement and 1.7-fold compared to P
removed in harvested crop in 2011. About 3.1 million kg manure P was produced per year in the region. If
plants were fertilized according to plant P requirement, it would be possible to save at least 46.3 million kg
P in 20 years compared to fertilization in 2011. Manure P produced in OSB region w ould be sufficient to
satisfy plant P requirement for 20 years and about 26.9 million kg of surplus manure P could be transferred
to other regions during the two decades.
In SEF and UUS fertilization in 2011 was only slightly higher than the biological plant P requirement (Figure
6). Plant P requirement was 1.04 and 1.29 million kg in SEF and UUS, respectively. Manure P met 59 and
35% of the plant P requirement in SEF and UUS, respectively. This indicates that both regions are potential
receivers for manure P from the other regions. It is possible to spare 0.35 million kg P during 20 years in SEF
if fertilization was made according to plant P requirement compared to the current use. In UUS the
situation was vice versa. Fertilization according to plant P requirement would need during the 20 years 4.4
million kg more P than if present use is continued.
The project is partly financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund
12
P fertilization, million kg
5.0
Southeast Finland
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
at present
after 5 years
after 10 years
P fertilization, million kg
5.0
after 15 years
after 20 years
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
at present
P fertilization, million kg
after 20 years
Uusimaa
4.0
after 5 years
5.0
after 10 years
Southwest Finland
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
at present
P fertilization, million kg
after 15 years
after 5 years
5.0
after 10 years
after 15 years
after 20 years
after 15 years
after 20 years
Ostrobothnia
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
at present
after 5 years
after 10 years
mmm
Plant P requirement
Zero-balance of P
Present manure P
Present mineral P
Figure 6. Average P fertilization at present (year 2011) and calculated P fertilizer need according to plant
requirement and zero-balance in ELY Centres of Southeast Finland (SEF), Uusimaa (UUS), Southwest Finland
(SEF) and Ostrobothnia (OSB).
The project is partly financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund
13
4. Discussion
Animal production affects strongly the P flows in agriculture. Antikainen et al. (2005) showed that as much
as 70 % of the P harvested in crops was fed directly to animals in 1995-1999. At present, the quantities are
similar, 67% of the cereal consumption being used as fodder (Tike 2013). Specialization of different farms in
plant and animal production results in use of mineral P fertilizers on farms without manure P, and that is
the case even on regions with enough, or in excess of animal manure to meet the requirements of the
plants in the whole region. Particularly this was the case in OSB, but also in SWF, where fertilizer P sales
during the 2000’s have not been different from those regions which have less animal manure to replace
mineral fertilizers. The same phenomenon is reality at smaller scales down to the farm level even in other
regions with less concentrated animal production, since it is diluted in our calculations which use regional
average values.
Cultivation of special crops such as sugar beet, potato and vegetables was not taken into account in our
scenarios, but only cereals and grasses were assumed to be grown. As a result of that decision P actually
required for fertilization may be underestimated, but the extent of the underestimation is unknown as the
actual biological requirement of P is only known for cereals and grasses. However, the limitation doesn’t
fundamentally alter the obtained results, because cereals and grasses are major crops in Finland, covering
91% of the cultivated area. In SEF, UUS, SWF and OSB the proportions of cereals and grasses are 89, 85, 92
and 90%, respectively.
The other shortcoming in these calculations was that in the ‘zero-balance’ scenario the yield was assumed
to remain unaffected, irrespective of the STP decrease in time. In fact, a fraction of STP values reduced to a
level where plant P requirement for 95% yield maximum was far higher than the amount given to
compensate P removed in the harvested crop. Therefore, when used in practice, this simple fertilization
strategy would not result in as high total yield as the ‘plant P requirement’ strategy.
The trends in average STP concentrations for the zero-balance and the plant P requirement scenarios were
very similar. The goal to reduce P loading into waters can thus be achieved by both fertilization strategies.
However, when fertilized with zero-balance, soils with low STP status are under-fertilized and don’t meet
their yield potential, whereas soils with high STP status are over-fertilized which leads to inefficient and
uneconomical P use (see Valkama et al. 2011). By both fertilization scenarios STP values would decrease
faster than fertilizing according to the rates allowed in FAEP regulations (results not presented here).
From the trends in STP concentrations we can at some level predict the effects on P losses, because
leaching of dissolved P (DP) has been shown to correlate with soil STP (Uusitalo and Aura 2005). By using a
simplified model, where DP concentration (mg l -1) of runoff water was estimated to be 0.01* STP and total
runoff 270 mm per year, annual losses of DP can be roughly estimated. In 2005-2009 DP load would have
been accordingly 0.7 million kg per year in Finland. Phosphorus fertilization according to plant requirement
or zero-balance would, respectively, result in 42% or 38% lower DP losses due to lower STP values after 20
years.
If plants were fertilized according to their P requirement, saving of about 143 million kg P during 20 years
could be achieved compared to the present P use. In some regions, e.g. SWF and OSB, manure P produced
is more than enough to meet the requirements of the plants due to prolonged P surplus in the regions
The project is partly financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund
14
which has led to P accumulation and higher STP status of the soils. In case of plant P requirement practice
surplus manure P could then be transported to other regions or stored for later use.
The regional and local imbalance between plant and animal production is one important factor contri buting
to the mismanagement of plant nutrients (Sibbesen and Runge-Metzger 1995, Granstedt 2000). Cereal
farms use mineral fertilizers to produce fodder that is sold to animal farms where nutrients accumulate and
are prone to losses. There are some ways out of this currently one-directional P transport towards an
environmentally sound nutrient management. In regions where animal production is not centralized, better
co-operation and integration between neighboring cereal and animal farms may solve the probl em.
Nutrients are then recycled between farms when cereal farm produces fodder to the animal farm, which in
turn delivers manure to the cereal farm. In the animal intensive regions situation is much more difficult,
when costly transportation of animal manure to other regions is required. In that case, new technologies
for manure processing are necessary to concentrate the nutrients into a smaller volume to facilitate
transportation. A third solution would be forced decentralization of the animal production, as suggested by
Granstedt (2000) for Sweden. The last solution would be politically difficult and constrained by the current
subsidy system.
If the high surpluses and losses of P are aimed to be diminished and natural mineral P resources spared ,
input to the agricultural system must be reduced. The mineral P stock currently brought into the
agricultural soils should be adjusted by closing the nutrient loop more tightly. This means that not only
recycling of manure P must be improved but also P in e. g. human excreta and slaughter wastes must be
returned back to the agricultural soils. All P flows and stocks need to be quantified regionally to develop
optimal P use and necessary technological solutions.
The project is partly financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund
15
5. Literature
Aakkula, J., Manninen, T., and Nurro, M. (eds.) 2010. Follow-up study on the impacts of agri-environment
measures (MYTVAS 3) – Mid-term report (in Finnish). Maa- ja metsätalousministeriön julkaisuja 1/2010.
Available:
http://www.mmm.fi/attachments/mmm/julkaisut/julkaisusarja/newfolder/5pe9soaAU/Mytvas_netti.pdf
Antikainen, R., Haapanen, R., Lemola, R., Nousiainen, J.I. and Rekolainen, S. 2008. Nitrogen and phosphorus
flows in Finnish agricultural and forest sectors, 1910–2000. Water, Air and Soil Pollution 194: 163–177.
Antikainen, R., Lemola, R., Nousiainen, J.I., Sokka, L., Esala, M., Huhtanen, P., Rekolainen, S. 2005. Stocks
and flows of nitrogen and phosphorus in the Finnish food production and consumption system. Agriculture,
ecosystems & environment 107:287-305.
MTT 2013.Feed tables in English.
Available:https://portal.mtt.fi/portal/page/portal/Rehutaulukot/feed_tables_english
Saarela, I. 2002. Phosphorus in Finnish soils in the 1900s with particular reference to the acid ammonium
acetate soil test. Agricultural and Food Science in Finland 11: 257-271.
Salo, T., Lemola, R. 2010. Typpi- ja fosforitaseet. In: Maatalouden ympäristötuen vaikuttavuuden
seurantatutkimus (MYTVAS 3), väliraportti. In: Aakkula, J., Manninen, T. Nurro, M (eds.). Maa- ja
metsätalousministeriön julkaisuja 1/2010: p. 30-40 [url ]
Sibbesen, E., Runge-Metzger, A. 1995. Phosphorus balance in European agriculture - Status and policy
options. In: Tiessen, H. (ed.) Phosphorus in the Global Environment - Transfers, Cycles and Management,
SCOPE 54. John Wiley, p. 43-57. Available:
http://www.scopenvironment.org/downloadpubs/scope54/4sibbesen.htm
Steen, I. 1998, Phosphorus Availability in the 21st Century: Management of a Non Renewable Resource.
Phosphorus and Potassium No: 217. Available: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/researchcuration/research/projects/phosphate-recov...
Tike 2013. Cereals balance sheet for the crop year 2012–2013: Use of cereals decreased over the previous
year. News and press releases published 26.9.2013. Available: http://185.20.137.77/en/use-cerealsdecreased-over-previous-crop-year_en
Turtola, E. and Yli-Halla, M. 1998. Fate of phosphorus in slurry and mineral fertilizer: accumulation in soil
and release onto surface runoff water. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 55:165–174.
Uusitalo, R. and Aura E. 2005. A rainfall simulation study on the relationships between soil test P versus
dissolved and potentially bioavailable particulate phosphorus forms in runoff. Agricultural and Food
Science 14: 335-345.
Uusitalo, R. and Jansson, H. 2002. Dissolved reactive phosphorus in runoff assessed by soil extraction with
an acetate buffer. Agricultural and Food Science in Finland 11: 343–353.
The project is partly financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund
16
Valkama, E., Uusitalo, R., and Turtola, E., 2011. Yield response models to phosphorus application: a
research synthesis of Finnish field trials to optimize fertilizer P use of cereals. Nutrient Cycling in
Agroecosystems 91: 1-15.
Vuorenmaa, J., Rekolainen, S., Lepistö, A., Kenttämies, K. and Kauppila, P. 2002. Losses of nitrogen and
phosphorus from agricultural and forest areas in Finland during the 1980s and 1990s. Environmental
Monitoring and Assesment 76: 213-248.
Vuorinen, J., Mäkitie, O. 1955. The method of soil testing in use in Finland. Agrogeological Publications 63.
44 p.
Yearbook of Farm Statistics, 2006. Information Centre of the. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Helsinki.
267 p.
Yearbook of Farm Statistics, 2008. Information Centre of the. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Helsinki.
266 p.
Yearbook of Farm Statistics, 2009. Information Centre of the. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Helsinki.
268 p.
Ylivainio, K., Sarvi, M., Lemola, R., Uusitalo, R. and Turtola, E. 2014. Regional P stocks of soil and animal
manure as compared to P requirement of plants. MTT Report 124 in press.
The project is partly financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund
17
This report in brief
About the project
Phosphorus (P) loading to watercourses is clearly related
to soil P status (STP), which has more than doubled in
Finland since 1950s due to positive P balances. The current P fertilization is still higher than required for the
maximum yield. Changes in STP and P use during the
next 20 years were predicted with two P fertilization scenarios: biological optimum P use (resulting in 95% of the
maximum yield of cereals and grasses) and zero-balance
(fertilization equal to P in harvested crop). Calculations
were made for the whole country and four regions along
the Baltic Sea coast.
The Baltic Sea Region is an area of intensive agricultural
production. Animal manure is often considered to be a
waste product and an environmental problem.
Due to decreasing STP values, successive P fertilization
according to the biological optimum or the zero-balance
would, respectively, result in 42% or 38% lower dissolved P losses after 20 years. If plants were fertilized
according to the biological optimum, about 143 million
kg P would be saved in 20 years in Finland compared to
the present P use. In some regions, by continuing the
present manure production, manure P would alone meet
the 20-year requirements.
The long-term strategic objective of the project Baltic
Manure is to change the general perception of manure
from a waste product to a resource. This is done through
research and by identifying inherent business opportunities with the proper manure handling technologies and
policy framework.
To achieve this objective, three interconnected manure
forums has been established with the focus areas of
Knowledge, Policy and Business.
Read more at www.balticmanure.eu.
This report on two P fertilization scenarios in Finland
was prepared as part of the work package 4 on manure
standards in the project Baltic Manure.
www.balticmanure.eu
Part-financed by the European Union
(European Regional Development Fund)