Nitrogen and Phosphorus Cycling in Soil, Water and Agriculture
This community investigates how nitrogen and phosphorus move through soil, water, and plant systems, focusing on fertilizer efficiency, nutrient removal from wastewater, and the biological processes that drive these cycles.
The work centers on the interaction between soil microbial communities and nutrient availability. Recurring themes include nitrogen fixation, denitrification, and the management of nitrous oxide emissions. Researchers examine how organic carbon and soil organic matter influence phosphorus uptake and nitrogen use efficiency in crops like rice. A significant portion of the literature addresses wastewater treatment, specifically the biological removal of nitrogen and phosphorus to prevent eutrophication. The community also explores carbon sequestration in soils and the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in nutrient acquisition. These studies frequently analyze the trade-offs between agricultural yield and environmental impact, particularly regarding greenhouse gas emissions and water quality.
The largest share of this community's output is found in phosphorus research, accounting for 24.1% of all tracked phosphorus studies, and 8,958 papers here. Nitrogen research follows, with 19.3% of all nitrogen studies and 12,705 papers. Hydrogen research contributes 6.3% of its tracked literature, representing 2,536 papers.
The community comprises 37,255 papers, published most frequently in the Journal of Water Process Engineering, Bioresource Technology, and Water Research.
Recent work continues to focus on the mechanistic details of microbial nitrate transformation and the long-term effects of fertilization on soil carbon storage. Studies are also exploring scalable biological processes like anammox for wastewater treatment and the impact of biochar on soil microbial communities.
Papers behind this description
- Microbial carbon use efficiency promotes global soil carbon storage — Nature, 2023 — doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06042-3
- Grassland soil carbon sequestration: Current understanding, challenges, and solutions — Science, 2022 — doi:10.1126/science.abo2380
- Unveiling the crucial role of soil microorganisms in carbon cycling: A review — The Science of The Total Environment, 2023 — doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168627
- Greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation in rice agriculture — Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 2023 — doi:10.1038/s43017-023-00482-1
- Challenges and opportunities for carbon neutrality in China — Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 2021 — doi:10.1038/s43017-021-00244-x
- Coupled iron cycling and organic matter transformation across redox interfaces — Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 2023 — doi:10.1038/s43017-023-00470-5
- Global stocks and capacity of mineral-associated soil organic carbon — Nature Communications, 2022 — doi:10.1038/s41467-022-31540-9
- Harnessing soil carbon sequestration to address climate change challenges in agriculture — Soil and Tillage Research, 2023 — doi:10.1016/j.still.2023.105959
- Fluvial Dissolved Organic Matter Quality Modulates Microbial Nitrate Transformation: Enhanced Denitrification under Low Carbon-to-Nitrate Ratio — Environmental Science & Technology, 2025 — doi:10.1021/acs.est.5c07104
- Soil carbon sequestration enhanced by long-term nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization — Nature Geoscience, 2025 — doi:10.1038/s41561-025-01789-y
- Cross-scenario transfer learning for estimating mangrove nitrogen and phosphorus content from field hyperspectral data to SDGSAT-1 and Sentinel-2 images — Remote Sensing of Environment, 2025 — doi:10.1016/j.rse.2025.114923
- Recent advances in regenerative sustainable agricultural strategies for managing soil carbon and mitigating climate change consequences — CATENA, 2025 — doi:10.1016/j.catena.2025.109208
- Denitrification is a community trait with partial pathways dominating across microbial genomes and biomes — Nature Communications, 2025 — doi:10.1038/s41467-025-65319-5
- Pesticide residues alter taxonomic and functional biodiversity in soils — Nature, 2026 — doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09991-z