Faculty of Science and Technology

Professor Richard Bardgett

Scientists at Lancaster University have found that organic nitrogen is more important for plant growth than previously thought and could contribute to maintaining diversity in grasslands. Until recently it was generally believed that the most important source of nitrogen for plants was inorganic nitrogen.

However, researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) from Lancaster University and the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER) have found that not only can organic nitrogen be directly taken up by plants but that it is also used differently by different species, enabling nitrogen sharing and biodiversity.

By tagging organic nitrogen with stable isotopes researchers have challenged the long held idea that organic nitrogen has to be first converted into an inorganic form before the plants can use it. Their findings have significant implications in unfertilised, low-productivity grasslands where organic nitrogen often appears in greater concentrations than inorganic forms.

Professor Richard Bardgett, lead researcher at Lancaster University said: "This research provides important new information about what happens to organic nitrogen in real ecosystems in real time. Tagging amino acids also revealed that different plant species prefer different sources of organic nitrogen. These preferences may be a way for plants and microbes to avoid competition with their neighbours for nitrogen when it is in very short supply, effectively enabling them to share nitrogen and maintain biodiversity."

Professor Julia Goodfellow, BBSRC Chief Executive, said: "This is important work which increases our understanding about the underlying processors that generate and maintain biodiversity and will help farmers, industry and government make the most of natural resources and use biodiversity more effectively."

Mon 24 April 2006

Associated Links

• Biological Sciences - Department of Biological Sciences home page
• Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER)
• Lancaster Environment Centre - Innovation, training and research for a sustainable future