As production of biofuels increase to counter dependence on foreign oil and high fuel prices, some scientists worry that the world's phosphorus supply will slowly diminish, limiting our ability to grow crops and forcing fertilizer prices through the roof.
Phosphorous is essential to plant growth. Mined out of phosphate rocks, it is one of the three critical elements found in fertilizer along with potassium and nitrogen.
"From our country's deposits, we could run out in 50 to 100 years, which isn't very long," said Jessica Davis, professor of soil and crop sciences at Colorado State University. "I think that people aren't really aware of it."
Land resources in the U.S. are capable of producing a sustainable supply of 1.3 billion tons per year of biomass, or energy from natural sources such as wood, according to the Renewable Fuels Association, using a significant amount of phosphorous.
Dan Bush, professor and chair in the biology department at CSU, agrees we could eventually deplete our supply of phosphorous but biofuels will not be the only cause, he said. Farming will also contribute to the decline, Bush wrote in an e-mail to the Coloradoan.
"In all farming, for food or fuel, some nutrients are removed with the harvested material," Bush wrote. "Over time, any given required nutrient can become limiting as it moves out of the field with the harvested tissue."
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As production of biofuels increase to counter dependence on foreign oil and high fuel prices, some scientists worry that the world's phosphorus supply will slowly diminish, limiting our ability to grow crops and forcing fertilizer prices through the roof.
