Research Areas

Urban ecology, sustainability, biogeochemistry (phosphorus and nitrogen), organic waste management, food systems.

Research Interests

Dr. Metson’s work focuses on how we can better manage nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium, and carbon) in diverse socio-ecological contexts.

She uses quantitative (e.g., substance flow analysis, spatial mapping, statistical analyses) and qualitative (e.g., multi-actor workshops, interviews, participant observation) methods when answering research questions about:

1. how resources flow across landscapes
2. the effect of cross-scale socio ecological context on resource flows,
3. how socio-ecological context creates barriers and enablers to sustainable transformations, and
4. how the management of one resource interacts with other sustainability priorities (like climate change) to help transform urban and agricultural landscapes towards sustainability.

Teaching

GEO 2210B – Introduction to Statistics for Geographers

GEO 3354/ 9122 – Water and Cities

GEO 9099 – Research Design & Presentation

Supervised Graduate Students and Theses Titles

PhD Students

• J. Adebisi (joint-supervised) (Current) t.b.d.

Masters Students

• A. Fournie (Current) t.b.d.

Recent Publications

Refereed Journals

N Brett, G S Metson (2026). Making Soil Count: Digital Translations of Soil and Its Value. PUBLIC: Art/Culture/Ideas 73

G S Metson, K Eliasson, B-O Linnér, T-S Neset (2026). Phosphorus geopolitical scarcity: Representation of 2020-2023 market shocks in the media. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 14:1

G S Metson, A K Sieczko, G E Small, K Tonderski, J A Nicklay, N A Jelinski, P Shrestha, K LaBine (2025). Leaching the good stuff: Nitrogen and phosphorus in real and experimental urban agricultural settings, npj Urban Sustainability 5(1):94

M Larsson, N Brett, G S Metson, K Tonderski (2025). Enhancing nutrient recycling through expansion of biogas production - fact or fiction? Environment, Development and Sustainabilit

M Hadjikakou, N Bowles, O Geyik, S Conijn, J Mogollon, B L Bodirsky, A Muller, I Weindl, E A Moallemi, M A Shaikh, K Damerau, K F Davis, S Pfister, M Springmann, M Clark, G S Metson, E Röös, B Bajzelj, N Graham, D Wisser, J Doelman, A Deppermann, M Theurl, P Pradhan, M Stevanovic, C Lauk, J Chang, V Heck, E Ercin, L Peng, N Springer, L Bouwman, T Morais, H Valin, D M D’Croz, K-H Erb, A Popp, M Herrero, P Dumas, X Zhang, B A Bryan. (2025). Ambitious food system interventions required to mitigate the risk of exceeding Earth’s environmental limits. One Earth, 101351

S Magaya, M Reimer, G S Metson, T-S Neset, M Torralba, C J E Schulp (2025). Use of recycled phosphorus products in organic farming in EU member states: Theoretically supported but practically restricted. Food Policy 134:102881

S Coffey, S L Cheng, E Dukes, G S Metson, G K MacDonald, J N Galloway (2025). A model for institutional phosphorus damage costs: A case study at the University of Virginia. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 25:100560

W J Brownlie, P Alexander, D Cordell, M Masilin, G S Metson, M A Sutton, B M Spears (2024). National Phosphorus Planning for Food and Environmental Security. Current Opinions in Biotechnology 90:103226

B Macura, G S Metson, J R McConville, R Harder (2024). Recovery and reuse of plant nutrients from human excreta and domestic wastewater: a systematic map and evidence platform Environmental Evidence 13:21

R Harder, G S Metson, B Macura, S Johannesdottir, R Wielemaker, D Seddon, E Lundin, A Aliahmad, Erik Kärrman, J R McConville (2024). Egestabase – an online evidence platform to discover and explore options to recover plant nutrients from human excreta and domestic wastewater for reuse in agriculture. Methods X:102774

G Small, P Shrestha, C A Zeiner, G Barabás, G S Metson (2024). Phosphorus recycling and loss from compost-amended urban gardens: results from a seven-year study. Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems 9:1:e20055

A J Margenot, S Zhou, L M Condron, M G Rothman, G S Metson, P M Haygarth, J Wade, S Xu, P C Agyeman. (2024) The missing phosphorus legacy of the Anthropocene: quantifying residual phosphorus in the biosphere. Global Change Biology 30:6 e17376

Y Ran, C Cederberg, M Jonell, K Bergman, R Einarsson, J O Karlsson, H Karlsson Potter, M Martin, G S Metson, T Nemecek, K A Nicholas, Å Strand, P Tidåker, H MG van der Werf, D Vanham, H HE van Zanten, F Verones, E Röös (2024) Environmental assessment of diets – overview and guidance on indicator choice. The Lancet Planetary Health 8:3 e172-e187

J D Serrano-Gomez, G S Metson, T S Neset, J Santner, M Zessner, L Hermann (2023) EU-compliant wastewater recycled phosphorus: how much national cereal demand can it meet? Journal of Cleaner Production 429: 139482

L Manoukian, G S Metson, M Hernández, C Vaneeckhaute, D Frigon, S Omelon (2023). Forging a cohesive path: Integrating life cycle assessments of primary-origin phosphorus fertilizer production and secondary-origin recovery from municipal wastewater. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 199:107260

J Kingsley, K Donati, J Litt, N Shimpo, C Blythe, J Vávra, S Caputo, P Milbourne, L Diekmann, N Rose, R Fox-Kämper, A van den Berg, G S Metson, A Ossola, X Feng, T Astell-Burt, A Baker, B Lin, M Egerer, P Marsh, P Pettitt, T Scott, K Alaimo, K Neale, T Glover, J Byrne (2023). Pandemic gardening: A narrative review, vignettes and implications for future research. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 87:128062

J Davy, A Todd, G S Metson, A Thatcher (2023). Designing a greywater treatment system in a highly adaptive urban environment: An ergonomics and human factors observational analysis. Urban Water Journal 20:5 624-637

A Sieczko, P CH van de Vlasakker, K Tonderski, G S Metson (2023). Seasonal nitrogen and phosphorus leaching in urban agriculture: Dominance of non-growing season losses in a Southern Swedish case study. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 79:127823

J R McConville, G S Metson, H Persson (2023). Acceptance of human excreta derived fertilizers in Swedish grocery stores. City and Environment Interactions 17:100096

G E Small, N Martensson, B D Janke, G S Metson (2023). Potential for high contribution of urban gardens to nutrient export in urban watersheds. Landscape and Urban Planning 229: 104602

Chapters in Books
W J Brownlie, M A Sutton, D S Reay, K V Heal, B M Spears, […] G S Metson. Chapter 9. Towards our phosphorus future. in: Our Phosphorus Futures. W J Brownlie, M S Sutton, K V Heal, D S Reay, B M Spears (Eds). UK Center for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh (2022)

G S Metson, W J Brownlie, J C Bausch, M Jonell, K Matsubae, F Mnthambala, C Schill, E Tilley. Chapter 8. Consumption: The Missing Link in Phosphorus Security. in: Our Phosphorus Futures. W J Brownlie, M S Sutton, K V Heal, D S Reay, B M Spears (Eds). UK Center for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh (2022)

W J Brownlie, R Sakrabani, G S Metson, M Blackwell, B Spears. Chapter 6. Opportunities to recycle phosphorus rich organic wastes. in: Our Phosphorus Futures. W J Brownlie, M S Sutton, K V Heal, D S Reay, B M Spears (Eds). UK Center for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh (2022)

D Cordell, G S Metson, D Iwaniec, T T Bui, D L Childers, N Dao, H TT Dang, J Davidson, B Jacobs, S Kumwanda, T Morse, V Nguyen, B Thole, E A Tilley. Transforming Cities: Securing food and clean waterways through phosphorus governance. Transdiciplinary Research and Practice for Sustainability Outcomes, D Fam, J Palmer, C Reidy, C Mitchell (Eds.). Routledge (2017)

G Metson, K Wyant, D Childers. Introduction to P sustainability. Phosphorus, Food, Our Futures. J Elser, K Wyant, J Corman (Eds.) Oxford University Press (2013)

S H. Riskin, G Small, R Mikkelsen, G Metson, A Bateman, J Cooper, O S Hanserud, P Haygarth, C Laspoumaderes, M McCrackin, and S Remington. Phosphorus in Urban and Agricultural Landscapes. Phosphorus, Food, Our Futures. J Elser, K Wyant, J Corman (Eds.). Oxford University Press (2013)