Competition between roots and microorganisms for nitrogen: mechanisms and ecological relevance

Summary Demand of all living organisms on the same nutrients forms the basis for interspecific competition between plants and microorganisms in soils. This competition is especially strong in the rhizosphere. To evaluate competitive and mutualistic interactions between plants and microorganisms and to analyse ecological consequences of these interactions, we analysed 424 data pairs from 41 15 N‐labelling studies that investigated 15 N redistribution between roots and microorganisms. Calculated M ichaelis– M enten kinetics based on K m (Michaelis constant) and V max (maximum uptake capacity) values from 77 studies on the uptake of nitrate, ammonia, and amino acids by roots and microorganisms clearly showed…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China
• CA
  Chinese Academy of Sciences