<Drumbeat: September 18, 2009 The Oil Drum Drumbeat: September 19, 2009>

99 comments on Renewable Fuel Niches

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joule on September 18, 2009 - 5:42pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

darwinsdog -

Thanks. That's very interesting. One hand washes the other, even down there among lowly roots and fungi.

Accepting it as true the P fertilization inhibits this fungi-mediated P exchange, if you don't continually add an amount of P equal to the amount that is removed when the crop is harvested, won't you eventually deplete the soil of P?

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darwinsdog on September 18, 2009 - 6:31pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

..if you don't continually add an amount of P equal to the amount that is removed when the crop is harvested, won't you eventually deplete the soil of P?

Theoretically, yes. But much of the time P is there in the soil, it's just unavailable in soluble form that plants can use. The idea is that by not inhibiting the mycorrhizae via tillage & P supplementation, they will make P available for plant use.

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99 comments on Renewable Fuel Niches

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