Phosphate saturation of agricultural soils in the Netherlands, 1986-1999
Developments
Phosphate saturation of the soil has increased sharply in the last thirteen years. It occurs in almost all of the Netherlands, with the exception of some clay-soil areas and southern Limburg. Values of over 50% can be found in North Brabant and northern Limburg. The results for clay and peat areas are provisional (Schröder and Corré, 2000).
Policy
The implementation of the mineral accounting system (MINAS) has reduced the phosphate burden on agricultural land. Because phosphate continues to be applied to the soil under MINAS and because the soil already contains large quantities of phosphate, no improvement is expected for the short term in the phosphate saturation of the soil.
Relevance
Phosphate runs off easily to the surface water from ground saturated with phosphate, with negative effects on surface-water ecosystems.
