CAFE: a systems approach to nutrient management
The CAFE Framework connects the Cropping, Animal-crop, Food, and Ecosystem systems to evaluate, understand, and improve nitrogen and phosphorus management across landscapes. It helps researchers, practitioners, and policymakers better understand nutrient dynamics across coupled human-natural systems. Applications of the framework support nutrient management strategies that improve environmental outcomes, enhance resource efficiency, and identify pathways toward more circular and resilient food systems.
CAFE integrates four nested systems:
- Cropping System. Fertilizer inputs, crop production, biological fixation, and cropland nutrient surpluses.
- Animal-Crop System. Livestock production, feed flows, manure recycling, pasture systems, and nutrient conversion efficiencies.
- Food System. Food demand, trade, consumption, food waste, and nutrient redistribution across regions and populations.
- Ecosystem. Wastewater, septic systems, environmental discharge, nutrient accumulation, and watershed impacts.
Applying the Framework: 5-Step Implementation Overview
The CAFE Framework is designed to track nutrient flows across agricultural, food, and environmental systems. We develop a structured five-step approach to guide users from initial system definition and data harmonization to advanced modeling and stakeholder-informed action.
Explore CAFE resources and related assets
New Publication Highlight
Chesapeake Bay Nutrient Systems Analysis
The Chesapeake Bay application revealed that nutrient surpluses beyond croplands exceeded cropland surpluses in most counties, highlighting the importance of food systems, wastewater systems, and urban nutrient dynamics in watershed management.
The study integrated:
- ecosystem nutrient accumulation
- cropland nutrient budgets
- livestock-feed systems
- food demand
- wastewater nutrient flows
