Research and Development Initiatives-2

Task２

Sustainable Nutrient Management and Life Cycle Environmental Assessment

Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus are critical resources for agricultural productivity, yet when these nutrients escape into water bodies or the broader environment, they cause negative impacts like eutrophication and acidification. From the perspective of water environment conservation, advances in wastewater treatment can prevent nutrient runoff from living areas; on the other hand, in coastal aquaculture, nutrient depletion (oligotrophication) has led to issues like color fading in nori seaweed cultivation and reduced harvests of marine products. To understand the mechanisms driving changes in coastal fishery yields and the population dynamics of coastal biological resources, it is indispensable to comprehend the nutrient conditions that govern the productivity of primary producers (phytoplankton, attached microalgae, rocky reef algae, eelgrasses, etc.) forming the base of marine food webs. In order to make coastal aquaculture and fisheries sustainable, we need to clarify the relationship between nutrient flows—originating from economic activities under proper nutrient management—and nutrient supply in aquatic systems.

Research Task Leader

Kazuyo MATSUBAE

Project Leader & Research Task Leader

Professor, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University

▶︎ Laboratory website｜en

Professor Matsubae is a professor of Environmental and Energy Economics at Tohoku University, Japan, where she serves as Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Environmental Studies (GSES) and Director of the Institute of Resource Initiative. With a PhD in Economics from Waseda University, her research specializes in identifying supply chain risks through resource consumption from a life cycle perspective.
Her professional career began in the Department of Metallurgy at Tohoku University, followed by a year as a visiting associate professor at the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland, Australia. She serves as an expert adviser and committee member for various local and national government initiatives. Her key appointments include serving on the Waste and Recycling Subcommittee under the Industrial Structure Council for Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and as an Associate Member of the Science Council of Japan.
Currently, she leads the “Gastronomy Geopolitics based Co-creation platform of Green job market,” a significant long-term project (2021-2033) funded by JST COI-NEXT with a budget of 13 million USD.