Where is all the phosphorus? Michael Gross  Current Biology  Volume 27, Issue 21, Pages R1141-R1144 (November 2017) DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.10.046 Copyright © 2017 Terms and Conditions

Rare resource: Although phosphorus is one of the more abundant elements in Earth’s crust, minerals containing it in concentrated form occur only in very few areas, including North Africa. The image shows a phosphate mine in Selja Gorge, Tunisia. (Photo: Keith Roper/Flickr (CC-BY 2.0).) Current Biology 2017 27, R1141-R1144DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2017.10.046) Copyright © 2017 Terms and Conditions

Colourful continent: Australian soil is generally poor in phosphorus, but in certain areas the weathering of volcanic minerals provides a natural source. The map can be downloaded from https://data.csiro.au/dap/. Figure from Viscarra Rossel, R.A., and Bui, E.N. (2016). A new detailed map of total phosphorus stocks in Australian soil. Sci. Total Environ. 542, 1040–1049. Current Biology 2017 27, R1141-R1144DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2017.10.046) Copyright © 2017 Terms and Conditions

Smelly stuff: Using manure as a fertiliser can be a laudable contribution to phosphorus recycling, but is sometimes misused as waste disposal on land where fertiliser wasn’t necessary. (Photo: Alan Findlay/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).) Current Biology 2017 27, R1141-R1144DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2017.10.046) Copyright © 2017 Terms and Conditions