Frequent failure of nutrients to increase plant biomass supports the need for precision fertilization in agriculture
Abstract Implementing precision fertilization to maximize crop yield while minimizing economic and environmental impacts has become critical for agriculture. Variability in biomass response to fertilization within fields, among regions, and over time creates simultaneous risks of under-yielding and...
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2025-04-01
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| author | Oliver H. Carroll Eric W. Seabloom Elizabeth T. Borer W. Stanley Harpole Peter Wilfahrt Carlos A. Arnillas Jonathan D. Bakker Dana M. Blumenthal Elizabeth Boughton Miguel N. Bugalho Maria Caldeira Malcolm M. Campbell Jane Catford Qingqing Chen Christopher R. Dickman Ian Donohue Mary Ellyn DuPre Anu Eskelinen Catalina Estrada Philip A. Fay Evan D. G. Fraser Nicole Hagenah Yann Hautier Erika Hersh-Green Ingibjörg S. Jónsdóttir Taku Kadoya Kimberly Komatsu Luciola Lannes Maowei Liang Harry Olde Venterink Pablo Peri Sally A. Power Jodi N. Price Zhengwei Ren Anita C. Risch Grégory Sonnier G. F. Veen Risto Virtanen Glenda M. Wardle Elizabeth F. Waring George Wheeler Laura Yahdjian Andrew S. MacDougall |
| author_facet | Oliver H. Carroll Eric W. Seabloom Elizabeth T. Borer W. Stanley Harpole Peter Wilfahrt Carlos A. Arnillas Jonathan D. Bakker Dana M. Blumenthal Elizabeth Boughton Miguel N. Bugalho Maria Caldeira Malcolm M. Campbell Jane Catford Qingqing Chen Christopher R. Dickman Ian Donohue Mary Ellyn DuPre Anu Eskelinen Catalina Estrada Philip A. Fay Evan D. G. Fraser Nicole Hagenah Yann Hautier Erika Hersh-Green Ingibjörg S. Jónsdóttir Taku Kadoya Kimberly Komatsu Luciola Lannes Maowei Liang Harry Olde Venterink Pablo Peri Sally A. Power Jodi N. Price Zhengwei Ren Anita C. Risch Grégory Sonnier G. F. Veen Risto Virtanen Glenda M. Wardle Elizabeth F. Waring George Wheeler Laura Yahdjian Andrew S. MacDougall |
| author_sort | Oliver H. Carroll |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Implementing precision fertilization to maximize crop yield while minimizing economic and environmental impacts has become critical for agriculture. Variability in biomass response to fertilization within fields, among regions, and over time creates simultaneous risks of under-yielding and overfertilization. We quantify factors determining fertilization responsiveness (i.e., biomass increases with fertilization) up to 15 years in 61 unfertilized rangelands on six continents. We demonstrate widespread multi-year variability in responsiveness, with fertilization increasing average yield by 43% but failing to improve biomass 26% of the time. All sites were responsive at least once, but only four of 61 responded in all plots and years. Modelled management scenarios highlighted that fertilizer cessation is likely to generate sizable economic savings but always reduces yield because of the difficulty in predicting when and where biomass will be unresponsive. This work reveals substantial scale-dependent variability in fertilization responsiveness globally, while clarifying the prospects and pitfalls of managing more spatially and temporally precise nutrient application. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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| spelling | doaj-art-e617e5705c21486cb0c362ee4e7007542025-08-20T01:51:39ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-04-0115111210.1038/s41598-025-99071-zFrequent failure of nutrients to increase plant biomass supports the need for precision fertilization in agricultureOliver H. Carroll0Eric W. Seabloom1Elizabeth T. Borer2W. Stanley Harpole3Peter Wilfahrt4Carlos A. Arnillas5Jonathan D. Bakker6Dana M. Blumenthal7Elizabeth Boughton8Miguel N. Bugalho9Maria Caldeira10Malcolm M. Campbell11Jane Catford12Qingqing Chen13Christopher R. Dickman14Ian Donohue15Mary Ellyn DuPre16Anu Eskelinen17Catalina Estrada18Philip A. Fay19Evan D. G. Fraser20Nicole Hagenah21Yann Hautier22Erika Hersh-Green23Ingibjörg S. Jónsdóttir24Taku Kadoya25Kimberly Komatsu26Luciola Lannes27Maowei Liang28Harry Olde Venterink29Pablo Peri30Sally A. Power31Jodi N. Price32Zhengwei Ren33Anita C. Risch34Grégory Sonnier35G. F. Veen36Risto Virtanen37Glenda M. Wardle38Elizabeth F. Waring39George Wheeler40Laura Yahdjian41Andrew S. MacDougall42Department of Integrative Biology, University of GuelphDepartment of Ecology, Evolution, and Behaviour, University of MinnesotaDepartment of Ecology, Evolution, and Behaviour, University of MinnesotaGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Leipzig UniversityDepartment of Ecology, Evolution, and Behaviour, University of MinnesotaDepartment of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto at ScarboroughSchool of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of WashingtonRangeland Resources & Systems Research Unit, USDA-ARSArchbold Biological StationCenter for Applied Ecology, School of Agriculture, University of LisbonCenter for Forest Studies, Associated Laboratory TERRA, School of Agriculture, University of LisbonDepartment of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of GuelphDepartment of Geography, King’s College LondonGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Leipzig UniversitySchool of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of SydneySchool of Natural Sciences, Trinity College DublinMPG RanchEcology and Genetics Unit, University of OuluDepartment of Life Sciences, Imperial CollegeUSDA Agricultural Research ServiceDepartment of Geography, University of GuelphMammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of PretoriaDepartment of Biology, Utrecht UniversityDepartment of Biological Sciences, Michigan Technical UniversityLife and Environmental Sciences, University of IcelandNational Institute for Environmental StudiesBiology Department, University of North Carolina at GreensboroDepartment of Biology and Animal Sciences, State University of Sao PauloCedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, University of MinnesotaWildness, Biodiversity and Ecosystems under change (WILD), Vrije Universiteit BrusselUniversidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral-INTA-CONICETHawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney UniversityGulbali Institute, Charles Sturt UniversityCollege of Ecology, Lanzhou UniversitySwiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLArchbold Biological StationNetherlands Institute of EcologyEcology and Genetics Unit, University of OuluSchool of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of SydneyDepartment of Natural Sciences, Northeastern State UniversitySchool of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-LincolnCátedra de Ecología, Facultad de Agronomía, Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA-CONICET), Universidad de Buenos AiresDepartment of Integrative Biology, University of GuelphAbstract Implementing precision fertilization to maximize crop yield while minimizing economic and environmental impacts has become critical for agriculture. Variability in biomass response to fertilization within fields, among regions, and over time creates simultaneous risks of under-yielding and overfertilization. We quantify factors determining fertilization responsiveness (i.e., biomass increases with fertilization) up to 15 years in 61 unfertilized rangelands on six continents. We demonstrate widespread multi-year variability in responsiveness, with fertilization increasing average yield by 43% but failing to improve biomass 26% of the time. All sites were responsive at least once, but only four of 61 responded in all plots and years. Modelled management scenarios highlighted that fertilizer cessation is likely to generate sizable economic savings but always reduces yield because of the difficulty in predicting when and where biomass will be unresponsive. This work reveals substantial scale-dependent variability in fertilization responsiveness globally, while clarifying the prospects and pitfalls of managing more spatially and temporally precise nutrient application.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99071-zNutrient limitationPrecision fertilizationPrecision agricultureRangelandsGrasslandsFertilizer responsiveness |
| spellingShingle | Oliver H. Carroll Eric W. Seabloom Elizabeth T. Borer W. Stanley Harpole Peter Wilfahrt Carlos A. Arnillas Jonathan D. Bakker Dana M. Blumenthal Elizabeth Boughton Miguel N. Bugalho Maria Caldeira Malcolm M. Campbell Jane Catford Qingqing Chen Christopher R. Dickman Ian Donohue Mary Ellyn DuPre Anu Eskelinen Catalina Estrada Philip A. Fay Evan D. G. Fraser Nicole Hagenah Yann Hautier Erika Hersh-Green Ingibjörg S. Jónsdóttir Taku Kadoya Kimberly Komatsu Luciola Lannes Maowei Liang Harry Olde Venterink Pablo Peri Sally A. Power Jodi N. Price Zhengwei Ren Anita C. Risch Grégory Sonnier G. F. Veen Risto Virtanen Glenda M. Wardle Elizabeth F. Waring George Wheeler Laura Yahdjian Andrew S. MacDougall Frequent failure of nutrients to increase plant biomass supports the need for precision fertilization in agriculture Scientific Reports Nutrient limitation Precision fertilization Precision agriculture Rangelands Grasslands Fertilizer responsiveness |
| title | Frequent failure of nutrients to increase plant biomass supports the need for precision fertilization in agriculture |
| title_full | Frequent failure of nutrients to increase plant biomass supports the need for precision fertilization in agriculture |
| title_fullStr | Frequent failure of nutrients to increase plant biomass supports the need for precision fertilization in agriculture |
| title_full_unstemmed | Frequent failure of nutrients to increase plant biomass supports the need for precision fertilization in agriculture |
| title_short | Frequent failure of nutrients to increase plant biomass supports the need for precision fertilization in agriculture |
| title_sort | frequent failure of nutrients to increase plant biomass supports the need for precision fertilization in agriculture |
| topic | Nutrient limitation Precision fertilization Precision agriculture Rangelands Grasslands Fertilizer responsiveness |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99071-z |
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