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On the Special Relationship between JEQ and Phosphorus
Author(s) -
Gregorich Ed
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq2018.01.0001ed
Subject(s) - phosphorus , environmental quality , quality (philosophy) , element (criminal law) , ecology , library science , environmental science , environmental planning , political science , computer science , chemistry , law , epistemology , philosophy , biology , organic chemistry
The year 2019 marks the 350th anniversary of the scientific discovery of phosphorus. This is a good time to recognize this discovery and consider where we have come from, where we are today, and where we should be going in our relationship with this valuable element. Environmental issues related to phosphorus are manifold and have broadened their reach considerably since the late 1990s and early 2000s. Through the years, the Journal of Environmental Quality ( JEQ) has been at the forefront of covering these issues. One indicator of the prominence of phosphorus in environmental issues is that 4 of the 10 most highly cited papers in JEQ have the word phosphorus in the title (Correll, 1998; Heckrath et al., 1995; Sharpley et al., 1994; Sims et al., 1998). Together, these four papers have been cited more than 5500 times in the scientific literature, an amazing measure of how this topic has drawn the focus of environmental research and reporting. The first issue of JEQ contained two papers that focused squarely on an important environmental concern, that of water quality. The papers by Ryden et al. (1972a,b) described the development of improved laboratory methods that could be used to predict the contribution of soil phosphorus to streams draining an area of urban development to Lake Mendota, Madison, WI. Some 47 issues later, researchers are refocusing on phosphorus fate and transport in urban environments. Later this year, JEQ will publish a special collection of papers titled “Celebrating the 350th Anniversary of Discovering Phosphorus: For Better or Worse.” This special collection will document current P management practices, opportunities to improve this management in the future, and the socioeconomic challenges of forging broad societal alliances aimed at longterm global solutions to issues of P management. Topics in the collection of papers C in JEQ will include: • The role and history of P and its many uses in modern agriculture • The science of fertilizer and manure P management • The role of P in the impairment of water quality • Soil and water management strategies to minimize water quality impairment On the Special Relationship between JEQ and Phosphorus