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In the soil, acidification reduces microbial and macrofaunal diversity. [31] This can reduce soil structure decline which makes it more sensitive to erosion. There are less nutrients available in the soil, larger impact of toxic elements to plants, and consequences to soil biological functions (such as nitrogen fixation). [32]
Nitrogen fertilizer being applied to growing corn in a contoured, no-tilled field in Iowa.. Nutrient management is the science and practice directed to link soil, crop, weather, and hydrologic factors with cultural, irrigation, and soil and water conservation practices to achieve optimal nutrient use efficiency, crop yields, crop quality, and economic returns, while reducing off-site transport ...
soil type and structure. For example, sandy soil holds little water while clay soils have high water-retention rates; the amount of water used by the plants/crops; how much nitrate is already present in the soil. [3] The level of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) in the Earth's atmosphere is increasing at a rate of 0.2 to 0.3% annually.
The prevailing view in the 1940s and 1950s was that P availability was maximized near neutrality (soil pH 6.5–7.5), and decreased at higher and lower pH. [ 29 ] [ 30 ] Interactions of phosphorus with pH in the moderately to slightly acidic range (pH 5.5–6.5) are, however, far more complex than is suggested by this view.
Base-cation saturation ratio (BCSR) is a method of interpreting soil test results that is widely used in sustainable agriculture, supported by the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA) [1] and claimed to be successfully in use on over a million acres (4,000 km 2) of farmland worldwide.
The approach of other soil labs also entering the soil health field is to add into common chemical nutrient testing a biological set of factors not normally included in routine soil testing. The best example is adding biological soil respiration ("CO 2 -Burst") as a test procedure; this has already been adapted to modern commercial labs in the ...
Plant nutrient availability is affected by soil pH, which is a measure of the hydrogen ion activity in the soil solution. Soil pH is a function of many soil forming factors, and is generally lower (more acidic) where weathering is more advanced. [43]
Nutrients in the soil are taken up by the plant through its roots, and in particular its root hairs.To be taken up by a plant, a nutrient element must be located near the root surface; however, the supply of nutrients in contact with the root is rapidly depleted within a distance of ca. 2 mm. [14] There are three basic mechanisms whereby nutrient ions dissolved in the soil solution are brought ...