Modelling phosphorus dynamics in four European long-term experiments

Phosphorus (P) is a non-renewable geological macronutrient that plays an essential role in food security. The excessive use of P as a fertilizer and its subsequent diffuse loss leads to the deterioration of water quality, eutrophication, and loss of biodiversity. Ecosystem process-based models are a powerful tool to depict the P cycle, investigate the effects of management practices and climate change, and ultimately assess policy interventions that affect biogeochemical cycles. Of the limited number of P models in agricultural production systems, none have been tested in temperate conditions for periods of decades using long-term field experiments