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The Impact of First-Generation Biofuels on the Depletion of the Global Phosphorus Reserve

AMBIO volume 41, pages 341–349 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

The large majority of biofuels to date is “first-generation” biofuel made from agricultural commodities. All first-generation biofuel production systems require phosphorus (P) fertilization. P is an essential plant nutrient, yet global reserves are finite. We argue that committing scarce P to biofuel production involves a trade-off between climate change mitigation and future food production. We examine biofuel production from seven types of feedstock, and find that biofuels at present consume around 2% of the global inorganic P fertilizer production. For all examined biofuels, with the possible exception of sugarcane, the contribution to P depletion exceeds the contribution to mitigating climate change. The relative benefits of biofuels can be increased through enhanced recycling of P, but high increases in P efficiency are required to balance climate change mitigation and P depletion impacts. We conclude that, with the current production systems, the production of first-generation biofuels compromises food production in the future.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Nico de Ridder and two anonymous referees for comments.

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  1. Environmental Systems Analysis Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700, AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Lars Hein & Rik Leemans

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  1. Lars Hein
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Correspondence to Lars Hein.

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Hein, L., Leemans, R. The Impact of First-Generation Biofuels on the Depletion of the Global Phosphorus Reserve. AMBIO 41, 341–349 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-012-0253-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-012-0253-x

Keywords

  • Biofuels
  • Phosphorus
  • Climate change
  • Trade-off