These key soil physical properties are relatively easy to measure and in combination are very indicative of the nutrient status (see e.g. These include bedrock, texture (1.3.5 Soil texture), pH (1.4.1 Soil pH), bulk density (1.3.4 Bulk density), cation exchange capacity, and soil organic matter (SOM). Commonly used proxies are N mineralisation ( protocol 2.2.5 Nutrient mineralisation), soil NO 3 and NH 4 concentrations (Keeney & Nelson, 1982), soil C:N ratio ( protocol 2.2.4 Soil carbon and nutrient stocks), Olsen P and Bray P (Bray & Kurtz, 1945 Olsen, 1954), and/or ion exchange resin membranes like Plant Root Simulator (PRS) probes (1.4.2 Soil nutrient), but these all have their drawbacks (Binkley & Hart, 1989 Holford, 1997 Neyroud & Lischer, 2003).Īlthough no perfect method exists to determine nutrient availability, some soil properties are very indicative of the nutrient status of a soil (Vicca et al., 2018). However, the availability of individual nutrients can be difficult to assess, as, for example, no perfect method exists to determine availability of N or P to plants (Binkley & Hart, 1989 Holford, 1997 Neyroud & Lischer, 2003).
But other nutrients such as potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), and zinc (Zn) can limit plant growth and influence ecosystem behaviour when in short supply (see e.g.
The focus in terrestrial ecology is typically on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), and to a lesser extent on phosphorus (P).
