
ISSUE BRIEFS

ISSUE BRIEF N°03
Furthering 4R Nutrient Stewardship
January 2022
Future implementations of 4R Nutrient Stewardship need to integrate with changing farming objectives that support a wider range of sustainability outcomes. The new paradigm for Responsible Plant Nutrition provides perspective for such integration. We suggest changes to align it with future farming systems that intensify production, improve human nutrition, protect and enhance biodiversity, shrink environmental and carbon footprints, and make nutrient flows more circular.

ISSUE BRIEF N°02
Achieving Nature-Positive Plant Nutrition: Fertilizers and Biodiversity
August 2021
Mineral nutrition of agricultural crops and pastures strongly affects food and biodiversity, both of which are essential to the well-being of humanity. Excessive applications of nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, have numerous negative impacts on biodiversity in agricultural systems and beyond. However, applying too few nutrients can also negatively affect our natural systems if it results in increased pressures to convert natural ecosystems to production systems. Optimally managing nutrient inputs for biodiversity, food, nutrition and other outcomes must be based on context-specific targets and solutions that enhance biodiversity from farm to land-scape and global scales.

ISSUE BRIEF N°01
A New Paradigm for Plant Nutrition
November 2020
Nutrient inputs play a critical role in raising crops and livestock for food security, human nutrition and other uses in the bioeconomy. Their production and management must change to more effectively nourish crops, reduce harmful environmental impacts caused by nutrient losses and contribute to restoration of soil health.
Elsevier, Global Food Security, Volume 33, June 2022, 100636