The Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance hosts technical webinars on important phosphorus management issues. Our members participate in the webinars and the phosphorus sustainability community is invited to attend.
In addition, we create video abstracts of phosphorus sustainability research that has been published recently in respected, peer-reviewed journals through our series Phosphorus Science Now! The video abstracts are 5- to 10-minutes long and the researchers present their own findings.
Most recent webinar
Monitoring Phosphorus in the Environment
How do we know how much phosphorus is leaving the land and moving through our waterbodies? There are, in fact, a variety of methods for tracking phosphorus flows, involving both direct and indirect measurements.
In this webinar, we hear from experts describe how “on-the-ground” and remote sensing measurements are collected and packaged for use by the phosphorus community. We’ll also hear about major gaps in monitoring coverage and ways to fill them.
Panelist
- Michael Meyer, Research Ecologist/Limnologist, United States Geological Survey
- Colin Peake, Physical Scientist, United States Geological Survey
- Christopher Oates, PhD Student, North Carolina State University
- Noah Schmadel, Hydrologist, United States Geological Survey
- Olivia Miller, Hydrologist, United States Geological Survey
P from Pee: Urine Diversion and Resource Recovery
Most of the phosphorus you eat and drink ends up in your urine, which is also rich in nitrogen and, of course, water. Various technologies have been developed to keep urine separate from other wastes so these water and nutrient resources can be more readily reused beneficially and locally.
In this webinar, we’ll dive into urine! We’ll look at some of the technologies for urine diversion and resource recovery, some ongoing projects that connect these resources to farms, and some of the safety and regulatory issues involved. We’ll be joined by Abe Noe-Hays from the Rich Earth Institute, Dr. Treavor Boyer from Arizona State University, Madeline DuBois from The Land Institute, and Mathew Lippincott from University of Michigan. As always, we’ll invite your questions.
Panelist
- Abe Noe-Hays, Research/Co-Director & Co-Founder, Rich Earth Institute
- Treavor Boyer, Professor, Arizona State University
- Madeline DuBois, Research Technician, The Land Institute
- Mathew Lippincott, Regulatory Consultant, University of Michigan
H2Ohio’s Phosphorus Efforts
Lake Erie has long been a waterbody of high interest to the P sustainability community because of its history of massive and damaging harmful algal blooms. In 2019, the state of Ohio launched its H2Ohio program to focus on improving water quality across Ohio, including on Lake Erie and its Maumee River tributary. Thus far, the program has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to phosphorus reduction projects, such as wetlands restoration, ag tech innovation, and septic system maintenance.
In this webinar, we’ll be hearing from a panel of speakers involved in the H2Ohio work. David Emerman of Ohio EPA will set the stage by talking about the program, especially its technology assessment and piloting work and its wetlands projects. He’ll be joined by one of the technology providers, Dave White of Ecosystem Services Exchange who will speak about their Automated Drainage Water Management System, and Bryan Stubbs from the Cleveland Water Alliance, who will describe their innovation fund, technology test beds, and water quality sensor networks. As always, we’ll leave plenty of time for audience questions.
Panelist
- Bryan Stubbs, President and Executive, Cleveland Water Alliance
- David Emerman, Chief Community Officer, Northeast District Office, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
- Dave White, President, Ecosystem Services Exchange
Video interviews – Phosphorus Science Now!
Matt Scholz of the Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance has conducted interviews with scientists about their work in phosphorus sustainability. Learn about their findings in these videos:
Machine Learning-Based Identification of Animal Feeding Operations in the US on a Parcel-Scale
There’s no comprehensive inventory of concentrated animal feeding operations nationwide, limiting our understanding of their impact on nutrient overload and water quality issues. Dr. Argha discusses their study using big data to pinpoint animal feeding operations across the country.
Scientist
Dr. Argha Sana, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Kansas
Effective Nutrient Management of Surface Waters in the US Requires Expanded Water Quality Monitoring in Agriculturally Intensive Areas
Dr. Natalie argues for the need for more water quality monitoring stations across the country, especially in agriculturally intensive areas.
Scientist
Dr. Natalie Nelson, associate professor at North Carolina State University
Missing Phosphorus Legacy of Anthropocene: Quantifying Residual Phosphorus in the Biosphere
Phosphorus plays a critical role in providing nutrition to the plants and animals we depend upon for food, but much of it doesn’t make it into our food. Rather, it remains in the soil and becomes what we call residual phosphorus. Figuring out how much residual phosphorus is stored in the soil, what forms it is stored in, and where exactly it resides turns out to be a very difficult, though very important, task. Today’s guest has written a review in the Journal Global Change Biology about the challenges and importance of undertaking that task.
Scientist
Dr. Andrew Margenot of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign