• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

From nitrate crisis to phosphate crisis?

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
November 3, 2020
in Biology
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
IMAGE
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

International research team including Göttingen University call for a Europe-wide phosphate directive

IMAGE

Credit: Dr Jerry van Dijk

The aim of the EU Nitrates Directive is to reduce nitrates leaking into the environment in order to prevent pollution of water supplies. The widely accepted view is that this will also help protect threatened plant species which can be damaged by high levels of nutrients like nitrates in the soil and water. However, an international team of researchers including the Universities of Göttingen, Utrecht and Zurich, has discovered that many threatened plant species will actually suffer because of this policy. The results were published in Nature Ecology and Evolution.

Nitrogen, in the form of nitrates, is an important nutrient for plant species. However, an overabundance can harm plant biodiversity: plant species that thrive on high levels of nitrates can displace other species adapted to low levels. “Despite this, it is not enough simply to reduce the level of nitrates,” says co-author Julian Schrader, researcher in the Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography Group at the University of Göttingen. “Such a policy can even backfire and work against the protection of threatened plant species if other nutrients are not taken into account.”

In addition to nitrogen, plants also need phosphorus and potassium to grow. The researchers discovered that the ratio of these nutrients in the soil is important. They showed that when the concentration of nitrogen in the soil is reduced, without simultaneously reducing the concentration of phosphates, plant species that are already threatened, could disappear.

“Many threatened plant species in Europe are found in places where phosphate concentrations are low,” Schrader explained. If nitrogen concentrations decrease, as a result of effective environmental policies, then the relative concentration of phosphorous increases. This means that threatened species come under even more pressure. Threatened species are particularly sensitive to changes in nutrient concentrations and should, according to the researchers, be better protected.

The results of this research have significant consequences for the current EU Nitrate Directive. The authors advocate the introduction of an EU Phosphate Directive in addition to the existing EU Nitrate Directive.

###

Original publication:
Wassen, M. J., Schrader, J., Van Dijk, J., Eppinga, M. B. (2020) Phosphorus fertilization is eradicating the niche of northern Eurasia’s threatened plant species. Nature Ecology and Evolution. DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-01323-w

Or:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-01323-w

Contact:

Julian Schrader

University of Göttingen

Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography Group

Email: [email protected]

http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/128741.html

Media Contact
Melissa Sollich
[email protected]

Original Source

https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/3240.html?id=6049

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-01323-w

Tags: AgricultureBiodiversityBiologyEcology/EnvironmentFertilizers/Pest Management
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Global Movement and Annual Cycle in Spoonbills

Global Movement and Annual Cycle in Spoonbills

September 10, 2025
blank

Critically Endangered Shark Meat Frequently Sold Under False Labels in US, Study Finds

September 10, 2025

Fermented Poncirus Extract Inhibits Fat Cell Formation

September 10, 2025

Life at the Edge: Exploring Survival Within Arctic Ice

September 10, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Breakthrough in Computer Hardware Advances Solves Complex Optimization Challenges

    151 shares
    Share 60 Tweet 38
  • New Drug Formulation Transforms Intravenous Treatments into Rapid Injections

    116 shares
    Share 46 Tweet 29
  • Physicists Develop Visible Time Crystal for the First Time

    52 shares
    Share 21 Tweet 13
  • First Confirmed Human Mpox Clade Ib Case China

    56 shares
    Share 22 Tweet 14

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Global Movement and Annual Cycle in Spoonbills

Targeted Intraoperative Radiotherapy Advances in Early Breast Cancer

Blood Transfusions Increase Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Risk in Preemies

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.