Agricultural phosphorus legislation in Europe

Phosphorus (P) losses from agricultural fields can cause eutrophication and ecological deterioration of surface waters. Although there is no general European Phosphorus Regulation or Directive, some European Member States address the agricultural phosphorus losses via national or regional legislation restricting the application of phosphorus. Most of this legislation concerns implementations of the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) in terms of National Action Plans, the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/IEC) in terms of River Basin Management Plans and the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU). In 2014, we inventoried this phosphorus legislation in European countries. Some of these countries (or regions) do not have direct phosphorus application restrictions in addition to the chemical fertilizer N and manure N restrictions in the Nitrate Vulnerable Zones.