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. 2021 May 6;154(2):211–229. doi: 10.1007/s10533-021-00793-9

Fig. 3.

Fig. 3

Potential fertilizer impacts on bioavailable N supply from MAOM in soils with adequate MAOM-N (i.e. Figure 2, POM N supply ≈ Mineral sorption potential). Left: Modest, economical fertilizer application (lighter green gradient) incentivizes plants to invest in root production and associations with mycorrhizae (pink). Resulting plant-microbe-mineral interactions in minimally fertilized soils (1) liberate more bioavailable N from MAOM (orange); (2) increase microbial biomass; (3) produce less microbial ammonium waste and contribute less to N losses; and (4) increase necromass inputs that can replenish MAOM-N pools. Right: Heavy fertilizer application (darker green gradient) disrupts these plant-microbe-mineral interactions. (Color figure online)