Phosphorus recovery is as important for closing the phosphorus cycle as its discovery 350 years ago was for food production. A new analysis highlights costs and benefits of creating value from the wastes generated by our food systems and modern lifestyles.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
Ternary deep eutectic solvent-mediated one-pot solvothermal synthesis of biocarbon sheet-supported La2(CO3)3 nanowire with antibacterial activity for advanced phosphate adsorption
Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials Open Access 23 July 2025
-
Life cycle assessment of nutrient recovery strategies from domestic wastewaters to quantify environmental performance and identification of trade-offs
Scientific Reports Open Access 14 February 2024
-
Realising the circular phosphorus economy delivers for sustainable development goals
npj Sustainable Agriculture Open Access 04 October 2023
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$32.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References
Campbell, B. M. et al. Ecol. Soc. 22, 8 (2017).
Cordell, D. & White, S. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 39, 161–188 (2014).
Tonini, D., Saveyn, H. G. M. & Huygens, D. Nat. Sustain. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0416-x (2019).
Ashley, K., Cordell, D. & Mavinic, D. Chemosphere 84, 737–746 (2011).
Yan, Z. et al. Ecol. Lett. 19, 1237–1246 (2016).
Withers, P. J. A. et al. Ambio. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01255-1 (2019).
Jurgilevich, A. et al. Sustainability 8, 69 (2016).
Senthilkumar, K., Nesme, T., Mollier, A. & Pellerin, S. Nutr. Cycl. Agroecosys. 92, 145–159 (2012).
Schoumans, O. F., Bouraoui, F., Kabbe, C., Oenema, O. & van Dijk, K. C. Ambio 44(Suppl.), 180–192 (2015).
Huygens, D. & Saveyn, H. G. M. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 38, 52 (2018).
Jarvie, H. P. et al. J. Environ. Qual. 48, 1145–1155 (2019).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Withers, P.J.A. Closing the phosphorus cycle. Nat Sustain 2, 1001–1002 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0428-6
Published:
Version of record:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0428-6
This article is cited by
-
Ternary deep eutectic solvent-mediated one-pot solvothermal synthesis of biocarbon sheet-supported La2(CO3)3 nanowire with antibacterial activity for advanced phosphate adsorption
Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials (2025)
-
Life cycle assessment of nutrient recovery strategies from domestic wastewaters to quantify environmental performance and identification of trade-offs
Scientific Reports (2024)
-
Phosphorus limitation of Pinus massoniana reforestation increases with stand development: evidence from plant, leaf litter, and soil
Plant and Soil (2024)
-
Realising the circular phosphorus economy delivers for sustainable development goals
npj Sustainable Agriculture (2023)
-
Soil phosphorus availability and fractionation in response to different phosphorus sources in alkaline and acid soils: a short-term incubation study
Scientific Reports (2023)