By Jeanette Norton | December 1, 2018

Linking nitrification to microbial community in agroecosystems under changing climate

nitrification

Human activity has more than doubled the input of reactive nitrogen (N) to terrestrial systems, yet N availability remains a common limitation to plant production. Improved understanding of N cycling in agroecosystems is essential for increasing N use efficiency and sustainable food production. Availability of N from organic sources is the result of the enzymatic processes that comprise N mineralization, immobilization and nitrification. These transformations between organic N and inorganic N form a central part of the internal soil N cycle. Understanding the process of nitrification is central to our ability to predict and manage soil N losses and to understand impacts of agricultural management.