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| How often does someone bring it up here that there is 1000 years worth of phosphate in the soil if only we balance the soils such that plants can access this P ? This P doesn’t show up on a typical soil test though because the extractants used to measure soil available P aren’t strong enough to knock this P off soil and into the measured solution. IDK how much P is in any given soil that doesn’t show on the Bray test, it may be 1000 years worth, it may be 50 years, but there is some there that’s not showing on test.
Plant root exudates are strong enough, acidic enough, to release some of this P and the plant uses it. Healthy, robust plants especially will make this P available. So, even though there is less P applied than the plant will take up and remove, the plant takes off growing using easy to find and take up nutrients in the strip, grows a large, robust root system. It finds a little of the soil test P, but knocks off as much and more P that wasn’t in the test. Plant breaks down and the next soil test shows no change. It’s like the soil has reached equilibrium. That soil IS being mined, but at a rate that may take 3000 years to be noticeable. | |
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Let’s talk removal rates
