How humans derailed the nitrogen cycle and are trying to put it back on track
(Phys.org) —In 1900, about 1.6 billion people lived on Earth. Just a few generations later, over four times as many of us share the planet.
(Phys.org) —In 1900, about 1.6 billion people lived on Earth. Just a few generations later, over four times as many of us share the planet.
Environment
Jun 30, 2014
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In the future, plants will be able to create their own fertilizer. Farmers will no longer need to buy and spread fertilizer for their crops, and increased food production will benefit billions of people around the world, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 16, 2018
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A unique housing arrangement between a specific group of tree species and a carbo-loading bacteria may determine how well tropical forests can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, according to a Princeton University-based ...
Environment
Sep 15, 2013
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Agriculture involves a difficult balance between food production and environmental impact. For example, fertilizers can help to achieve good crop yields, but over-using them produces greenhouse gas emissions and pollution.
Ecology
Aug 30, 2022
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Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have found a way to reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizers needed to grow cereal crops. The discovery could save farmers in the United States billions of dollars annually ...
Biotechnology
Aug 5, 2022
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Nitrogen pollution is giving carnivorous plants on Swedish bogs so many nutrients that they don't need to catch as many flies, new research shows.
Ecology
Jun 11, 2012
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Queen's researchers have discovered that nanoparticles, which are now present in everything from socks to salad dressing and suntan lotion, may have irreparably damaging effects on soil systems and the environment.
Bio & Medicine
Apr 6, 2011
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When exposed to nitrogen fertilizer over a period of years, nitrogen-fixing bacteria called rhizobia evolve to become less beneficial to legumes - the plants they normally serve, researchers report in a new study.
Environment
Feb 23, 2015
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Is it possible to grow cereal crops without having to rely on energy-requiring commercial fertilizers? In a new study publishing August 7 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, researchers describe a newly identified corn ...
Ecology
Aug 7, 2018
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When considering human impacts on earth systems, disturbance to the carbon cycle grabs the headlines. But another critically important earth process, the nitrogen cycle, has also seen major disruption from human activity.
Environment
May 9, 2016
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