Location: Soil Management and Sugarbeet Research
Title: The importance of consensus science to managing phosphorus in the environment: SERA-17 and the legacy of Andrew SharpleyAuthor
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MACRAE, MERRIN - University Of Waterloo |
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Kleinman, Peter |
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OSMOND, DEANNA - North Carolina A&t State University |
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SHOBER, AMY - University Of Delaware |
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NELSON, NATHAN - Kansas State University |
Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Quality
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 1/10/2024 Publication Date: 2/10/2024 Citation: Macrae, M., Kleinman, P.J., Osmond, D., Shober, A., Nelson, N. 2024. The importance of consensus science to managing phosphorus in the environment: SERA-17 and the legacy of Andrew Sharpley. Journal of Environmental Quality. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20546. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20546 Interpretive Summary: Phosphorus (P) loss from agricultural systems to surface waters presents a wicked problem requiring transdisciplinary solutions. Through consensus building science, USDA's SERA-17 organization provided a means of distilling complex findings from a multitude of settings into scientific and management outcomes that have been adopted around the world. Similarly, Dr. Andrew Sharpley served as a the major leader of agricultural phosphorus science over the course of his career. In celebration of Sharpley's illustrious career, this analysis explores the lessons behind scientific consensus building for non-point source phosphorus management. Technical Abstract: Phosphorus (P) loss from agricultural systems to surface waters, and, ultimately, eutrophication, presents a wicked problem requiring transdisciplinary solutions. Over the course of his career, Dr. Andrew Sharpley demonstrated a rare ability to collaboratively achieve consensus around issues related to the science and management of P. The SERA-17 organization (Southern Extension and Research Advisory Information Exchange Group - 17) served as the central community of experts and stakeholders in which that consensus was built and applied. The consensus-based approach, routinely demonstrated by Sharpley and at the core of the SERA-17 organization, was routinely applied to key areas of P science to produce applied outcomes that have been readily adopted: advance foundational science to resolve knowledge gaps and to promote innovation; promote consistency in method to facilitate comprehensive investigations and conclusions across a diversity of systems; engage diverse stakeholders to prioritize research and, ultimately, ensure that outcomes reflect a plurality of perspectives; and, deliver pragmatic solutions that reflect the best information available at a particular time. We review the history of SERA-17 in delivering new science and new management recommendations with an eye to elucidating Sharpley’s role and legacy. |