Some trees growing in nutrient -poor forest soil may get what they need by cultivating specific root microbes to create compounds they require. These microbes are exceptionally efficient at turning inorganic minerals into nutrients that the trees can use.
Researchers from France report their findings in the July 2010 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology .
“In acidic forest soils , availability of inorganic nutrients is a tree- growth-limiting factor . A hypothesis to explain sustainable forest development proposes that tree roots select soil microbes involved in central biogeochemical processes, such as mineral weathering , that may contribute to nutrient mobilization and tree nutrition,” says Stéphane Uroz, an author on the study.
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| Grafic and concentration profiles describing the flux of nutrients in the ocean and sediments (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Grafic of the nutrient cycle in the marine realm (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
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