IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/inecol/v16y2012i6p914-927.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Efficiency Through Proximity

Author

Listed:
  • Geneviève Metson
  • Rimjhim Aggarwal
  • Daniel L. Childers

Abstract

In tightly coupled socioecological systems, such as cities, the interactions between socio‐economic and biophysical characteristics of an area strongly influence ecosystem function. Very often the effects of socioeconomic activities on ecosystem function are unintended, but can impact the sustainability of a city and can have irreversible effects. The food system in its entirety, from production to treatment of human waste, is one of the most important contributors to the way phosphorus (P) cycles through cities. In this article we examined the changes in P dynamics at the urban–agricultural interface of the Phoenix, Arizona, USA, metropolitan area between 1978 and 2008. We found that the contribution of cotton to harvested P decreased while the contribution of alfalfa, which is used as feed for local dairy cows, increased over the study period. This change in cropping pattern was accompanied by growth in the dairy industry and increased internal recycling of P due to dairy cow manure application to alfalfa fields and the local recycling of biosolids and treated wastewater. The proximity of urban populations with dairies and feed production and low runoff in this arid climate have facilitated this serendipitous recycling. Currently P is not strongly regulated or intentionally managed in this system, but farmers' behaviors, shaped largely by market forces and policies related to water recycling, unintentionally affect P cycling. This underscores the need to move from unintentional to deliberate and holistic management of P dynamics through collaborations between practitioners and researchers in order to enhance urban sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Geneviève Metson & Rimjhim Aggarwal & Daniel L. Childers, 2012. "Efficiency Through Proximity," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 16(6), pages 914-927, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:inecol:v:16:y:2012:i:6:p:914-927
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-9290.2012.00554.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-9290.2012.00554.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1530-9290.2012.00554.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Minghui Xu & Yibo Luan & Zhenke Zhang & Shengnan Jiang, 2021. "Dietary pattern changes over Africa and its implication for land requirements for food," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1-26, March.
    2. Chowdhury, Rubel Biswas & Moore, Graham A. & Weatherley, Anthony J. & Arora, Meenakshi, 2014. "A review of recent substance flow analyses of phosphorus to identify priority management areas at different geographical scales," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 213-228.
    3. Jedelhauser, Michael & Binder, Claudia R., 2015. "Losses and efficiencies of phosphorus on a national level – A comparison of European substance flow analyses," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 105(PB), pages 294-310.
    4. Chowdhury, Rubel Biswas & Moore, Graham A. & Weatherley, Anthony J., 2018. "A multi-year phosphorus flow analysis of a key agricultural region in Australia to identify options for sustainable management," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 42-60.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:inecol:v:16:y:2012:i:6:p:914-927. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1088-1980 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.