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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Water Management and Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #385099
Research Project: Advancing Water Management and Conservation in Irrigated Arid Lands

Location: Water Management and Conservation Research

Title: Physical and virtual nutrient flows in global telecoupled agricultural trade networks

Author
item CHEN, XIUZHI - China Agricultural University
item HOU, YUE - China Agricultural University
item KASTNER, T - Senckenberg German Entomological Institute
item LIU, LIU - China Agricultural University
item ZHANG, Y - Michigan State University
item YIN, T - China Agricultural University
item LI, MO - University Of New South Wales
item MALIK, ARUNIMA - University Of Sydney
item LI, MENGYU - University Of Sydney
item Thorp, Kelly
item HAN, S - China Agricultural University
item LIU, YAOZE - Purdue University
item MUHAMMAD, TAHIR - China Agricultural University
item LIU, JIANGUO - Michigan State University
item LI, YUNKAI - China Agricultural University

Submitted to: Nature Communications
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/12/2023
Publication Date: 4/26/2023
Citation: Chen, X., Hou, Y., Kastner, T., Liu, L., Zhang, Y., Yin, T., Li, M., Malik, A., Li, M., Thorp, K.R., Han, S., Liu, Y., Muhammad, T., Liu, J., Li, Y. 2023. Physical and virtual nutrient flows in global telecoupled agricultural trade networks. Nature Communications. 14. Article 2391. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38094-4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38094-4

Interpretive Summary: Global agricultural trade involves the transfer of agricultural products across international borders. The content of nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, within the traded agricultural products is often overlooked, and trade dynamics can lead to global imbalances in nutrient flows. This study examined the global flow of nitrogen and phosphorus resulting from agricultural trade among 188 countries from 1997 to 2016. Increasing agricultural trade over the time period led to increasing global nutrient flows. Countries and regions were identified as net nutrient importers or exporters, and inefficient trade flows were identified. The study provides guidance for adjusting agricultural trade to realize resource conservation and sustainability at global scales.

Technical Abstract: Global agricultural trade creates multiple telecoupled flows of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). The flows of physical and virtual nutrients along with trade have discrepant effects on natural resources in different countries. However, existing literature has not quantified or analyzed such effects yet. Here we quantified the physical and virtual N and P flows embedded in the global agricultural trade networks from 1997 to 2016 and elaborated components of the telecoupling framework. The N and P flows both increased continuously andmore than 25% of global consumption of nutrients in agricultural products were related to physical nutrient flows, while virtual nutrient flows were equivalent to one-third of the nutrients inputs into global agricultural system. These flows have positive telecoupling effects on saving N and P resources at the global scale. Reducing inefficient trade flows will enhance resource conservation, environmental sustainability in the hyperglobalized world.