Bacteria, not fungi, control how fast soil feeds plants nitrogen
Elrys AS, Müller C, Ali AM, Al-Sadi AM, Zhu T
Soil Health
The compost and balanced fertilizer you add to your garden beds can boost nitrogen release by nearly 50 to 60 percent, meaning your feeding schedule directly shapes how much nitrogen your plants actually get to use.
Soil bacteria and fungi break down organic matter and release nitrogen that plants need to grow, but this study found bacteria are far better at speeding up that release than fungi. Farming and gardening choices matter too: switching from wild land to cropland, or using organic and balanced fertilizers instead of straight synthetic nitrogen, sped up nitrogen release by anywhere from 17% to over 60%. Warmer, less acidic soils with lower carbon content also favored bacteria and faster nitrogen turnover.
Key Findings
Bacterial abundance was the strongest positive predictor of nitrogen mineralization efficiency, while fungal abundance and microbial biomass were negatively associated with it
Converting natural forests to croplands or plantations increased nitrogen mineralization efficiency by 17.4% and 19.8% respectively
Balanced NPK, organic-only, and combined organic-balanced fertilization increased nitrogen mineralization efficiency by 62.7%, 49.2%, and 47.7% respectively, while inorganic nitrogen-only fertilization showed no significant effect
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists analyzed thousands of soil samples worldwide and found that bacteria, not fungi, drive how quickly soil converts organic nitrogen into the form plants can use, and that farming practices like fertilizing with organic or balanced nutrients dramatically speed up this process.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Microbial and anthropogenic controls on global soil nitrogen mineralization efficiency.
Soil nitrogen (N) turnover regulates plant nutrient availability and potential N loss, yet how microbial communities, anthropogenic activities, and climate-change factors are associated with its gl...
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