Aims

The increasing global demand for sustainably-produced crops has led to a renewed interest in exploiting unprocessed rocks as soil amendments and fertilizers. Carbonatite rocks are of particular relevance because of their rapid weathering rates and diverse nutrient contents. However, there are insufficient data to support or refute their efficacy and to understand their mechanism(s) of action. Here, the effects of a carbonatite on two crops were assessed and compared to those of calcitic lime.

Methods

Wheat and pea were repeatedly grown under a low-nutrient regime under greenhouse conditions and their development, biomass, and shoot nutrient content were measured. The effect of the carbonatite on soil CO₂ evolution was also tested for wheat.

Results

Wheat grown with carbonatite produced 40% more shoot biomass and 50% more root biomass than plants grown with lime. There was a sharp reduction in specific root length (SRL), consistent with approximately 60% increases in shoot contents of N, P, K, and Mn. These effects were smaller for pea. For wheat, CO₂ from the soil was 70% greater with lime than with carbonatite.

Conclusions

We conclude that carbonatites can provide benefits to plants beyond serving as liming agents. In addition, root architecture and SRL appear to be useful traits for predicting plant responsiveness to carbonatite addition.

中文翻译：

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碳酸岩可以根据作物特性促进植物生长和营养

宗旨

全球对可持续生产作物的需求不断增长，导致人们对利用未加工的岩石作为土壤改良剂和肥料重新产生兴趣。碳酸岩具有特殊的相关性，因为它们风化速度快，营养成分多样。然而，没有足够的数据来支持或反驳它们的功效以及了解它们的作用机制。在这里，碳酸岩对两种作物的影响进行了评估，并与方解石石灰的影响进行了比较。

方法

小麦和豌豆在温室条件下在低营养条件下反复生长，并测量了它们的发育、生物量和枝条营养含量。碳酸盐对土壤 CO ₂演化的影响也对小麦进行了测试。

结果

与用石灰种植的植物相比，用碳酸岩种植的小麦产生的枝条生物量多 40%，根生物量多 50%。比根长 (SRL) 急剧减少，与 N、P、K 和 Mn 的枝条含量增加约 60% 一致。豌豆的这些影响较小。对于小麦，石灰中土壤中的CO ₂比碳酸岩高 70%。

结论

我们得出结论，碳酸岩除了用作石灰剂之外，还可以为植物带来好处。此外，根结构和 SRL 似乎是预测植物对碳酸盐添加反应的有用特征。