| 24 Nov 2025
History of anthropogenic Phosphorus inputs (HaPi) to the terrestrial biosphere from 1860 to 2020
Abstract. Nitrogen and Phosphorus (P) are essential nutrients for sustaining life on Earth and have been increasingly applied in global agriculture to meet the growing demand for food production. Quantifying the spatial and temporal dynamics of nutrient inputs to the terrestrial biosphere is crucial for analyzing nutrient flows in crop-livestock systems, managing nutrient resources sustainably, and mitigating nutrient-related environmental impacts. Here, built upon our previous work mapping global nitrogen inputs (History of anthropogenic Nitrogen inputs, HaNi), this study presents the History of anthropogenic P inputs (HaPi) dataset, a comprehensive quantification of human-driven P fluxes to terrestrial ecosystems. HaPi covers the period from 1860 to 2020 and has a spatial resolution of 5 arc-minutes (about 10 km at the equator) with an annual time-step. This harmonized dataset integrates seven components, including P fertilizer application on croplands and pastures, manure P application on croplands and pastures, manure P deposition on pastures and rangelands, and atmospheric P deposition. The results reveal that the global total P input increased from 3.8 Tg yr–1 in the 1860s to 40.9 Tg yr–1 in the 2010s, with mineral fertilizer and livestock manure contributing equally to the increase. Regional patterns have shifted significantly over the study period, with China, South Asia, and Brazil surpassing Europe and the USA as the regions with the highest P inputs in recent decades. Furthermore, mineral fertilizers dominate P inputs in most industrialized countries in the Northern Hemisphere, whereas manure P remains the primary source in many countries of the Southern Hemisphere. The HaPi dataset improves P mass budget calculations and provides essential forcing data for empirical or mechanistic models, supporting critical research in agricultural nutrient management, water quality control, and assessments of the coupled human-Earth system. The dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.29930279.v1 (Bian et al., 2025).
Competing interests: At least one of the (co-)authors is a member of the editorial board of Earth System Science Data.
Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this paper. While Copernicus Publications makes every effort to include appropriate place names, the final responsibility lies with the authors. Views expressed in the text are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.
