Bardgett R Streeter T Bol R 2003 Soil Microbes Compete Effe

Bardgett, R., Streeter, T., & Bol, R. (2003). Soil Microbes Compete Effectively with Plants for Organic-Nitrogen Inputs to Temperate Grasslands. Ecology, 84(5), 1277-1287. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3107936

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228825580_Soil_Microbes_Compete_Effectively_With_Plants_For_Organic-Nitrogen_Inputs_To_Temperate_Grasslands

Summarize the most important findings of the article. Specifically, describe the study organism, study area, research objectives, results and conclusions. You can also critique the source: if any of the methods, results or conclusions seem biased or questionable, it is appropriate to voice this kind of evaluation.

Solution

Study organism: low-productivity Agrostis capillaris-Festuca ovina grassland and high-productivity Lolium perenne-dominated grassland
Study area: significance of organic N for plant nutrition in grasslands of differing management intensity and soil fertility
Research objectives: To demonstrate the impact of presence of soluble organic N in soils of low productivity grasslands of temperate areas and to determine its impact on plant nutrition. The article also aims at demonstration of relative uptake of organic and inorganic N by plants of higher productivity and lower productivity grasslands.
Results and conclusions: The results shows that microbial biomass competes with plants for both organic and inorganic nitrogen. These microbes ensure the N retention in the temperate grasslands of lower productivity. Also, the comparative uptake of N by microbial biomass was more in the grasslands of lower productivity than in the higher producitivity grasslands.