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PHOSPHORUS AND SOIL: A TOXIC RELATIONSHIP

By: Elizabeth Juarez

In the 21st century a toxic relationship can be defined as any relationship where the negative outcomes surpass the good ones. These relationships are not rare in nature. Phosphorus (P)  fertilizers are used in agricultural fields; although it is beneficial, with time P can be harmful to soil. The chemistry of P found in fertilizers makes it useless for plants to use, later P accumulates and creates P runoff that deteriorates freshwater resources and contributes to algal blooms. New findings show that  stimulating soil biota can decrease P pools and make it accessible to plants. In the study, four treatments were applied to soil: Na+, corn stover (used as C amendment), both Na+ and stover, and a control with no amendments. The results showed that corn stover had the highest effect on microbial activity, including biomass and respiration. However, little correlation was observed between the treatments and the decrease of P pools. Even though the results did not support the hypothesis, the data is useful to continue investigating how to improve agricultural fields. It is essential to improve these fields to sustain the increasing rate of the world population. This is why researchers will continue to study how to cut off this toxic relationship.

Results of microbial activity in the four treatments. (Pelini.2020)

References:
Pelini, S.L., Susser, J.R., Weintraub, M.N.2020. Can we reduce phosphorus runoff from  agricultural fields by stimulating soil biota? Journal of Environmental Quality. 49:933-944.

Comments

  1. miroslava hernandezSeptember 25, 2020 at 12:25 AM

    comment by : Miroslava Herrnandez
    I agree that every toxic relationship should end because it only causes harm, in this case we all should take in consideration that agriculture is really important to our daily lives because food comes from there and if we want to bring children to this world and the future generations in general we should research more how to stop the harm to our soil. Overall I found your article and your explanation really interesting it brings a really good point to think about. I did not know that the element was harmful to the soil I learned new facts. I think the reduce of phosphorus fertilizers will bring amazing results into our agriculture.

    ReplyDelete
  2. M MendezOctober 24, 2020 at 6:47 PM

    If microbes are assimilating the phosphorus into their biomass instead of releasing it into the soil water, this would be an excellent way to prevent runoff of phosphorus into streams. That would be a great way to promote agricultural sustainability.

    ReplyDelete

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