By Team GS

Basic Plant info…  Energy inputs are required for the ongoing construction of a plant - Just like all organisms  Plants aquire nutrients through photosynthesis and from the soil  Nitrogen is particulary problematic because most plants are unable to convert atmospheric nitrogen available for absorption

Continued….  Some plants are able to capture animals and secrete digestive juices to make nitrogen available for absorption

Sources of plant nutrients  Fixation of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2)  simple sugar with the energy of the sun

Macronutrients  Carbon  Oxygen  Hydrogen  Nitrogen  Potassium  Calcium  Magnesium  Phosphorous  Sulfur

Micronutrients  Iron  Manganese  Zinc  Boron  Copper  Molybdenum

Soil  Soil is a perfect host for some bacteria and fungi that aid in obtaining nutrients in a useable form.

Composition of soil  Plant growth is affected by the composition  Composition includes: Sand Rocks- various sizes Clay Silt Humus- partly decayed organic material 92 naturally occuring elements found in soil

Topsoil  Roots are found in topsoil  Living organisms  Humus  ½ of all topsoil is made or airpockets

Cultivation  Nutrients are recycled and made available to organisms on a continous basis  Major techniques have been created to help cultivators  Crop rotation- solution of nutrient deficiency  Why?  Ex soy beans are great for using nitrifying bacteria

Process of nitrification

How plants grow in soil  Most roots occur in the topsoil, which is the upper most top layer of soil and contains organic matter  Subsoil lies underneath the topsoil and contains larger mineral particles for plants to feed off  Raw material known as bedrock also releases nutrients over time and weathering.

Fertilizers  Was first ment to be used in large production farms to replace nutrients lost in cultivated fields  Most commonly added is Nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium  Both synthetic and organic fertilizer are often added in large quantities and can be significant sources of pollution in certain situations.  Less signs of pollution are shown with organic based fertilizers.

Basic working