Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 15, 2025

Microplot Design and Plant and Soil Sample Preparation for 15Nitrogen Analysis
Published on: May 10, 2020
Unveiling Chemical Gradients in the Fertosphere: A Paradigm Shift to Enhance Fertilizer Efficiency and Decrease the
Enzo Lombi1, Casey L Doolette1, Rodrigo Coqui da Silva1
1Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, South Australia 5095, Australia.
Abstract:
The need to increase food production means that fertilizers will continue to play a key role in farming systems. However, current formulation and practices are increasingly being scrutinized due to the low efficiency of applied nutrients with negative economic and environmental consequences. Enhance nutrient use efficiency requires a comprehensive understanding of soil-fertilizer interactions. Here, we contend that this knowledge has been generated by 'bulk' soil approaches that, while providing useful information, oversimplify these interactions by neglecting the strong chemical gradients occurring in the soils around fertilizers (i.e., in the fertosphere). Progress in non-destructive, in situ, and spatially resolved analytical techniques now allow a paradigm shift in the investigation of fertilizer chemistry in soil. For instance, mapping of diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) allows for nutrient availability to be quantified in 2D. Complementing DGT information with imaging X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES-imaging) provides an avenue to understand how chemical speciation along chemical gradients in the fertosphere controls nutrient availability. This information is essential to improve agronomic practices and for the development of novel fertilizers. This is particularly important in developing fertilizers from recycled materials and return nutrient cycles within, or at least closer to, their planetary boundaries.
More Related Videos
12:03Two-Dimensional Visualization and Quantification of Labile, Inorganic Plant Nutrients and Contaminants in Soil
Published on: September 1, 2020
10:19A CO2 Concentration Gradient Facility for Testing CO2 Enrichment and Soil Effects on Grassland Ecosystem Function
Published on: November 21, 2015
Related Concept Videos
Environmental Applications of Microorganisms
Key Elements for Plant Nutrition
The Roles of Bacteria and Fungi in Plant Nutrition
Metabolism of Chemolithotrophs
Inorganic Nitrogen Assimilation
The Soil Ecosystem