Continued phosphorus (P) inputs are necessary to sustain grassland productivity. Struvite, a sparingly water-soluble P mineral recovered from wastewater, has emerged as an alternative to conventional fertilizers such as water-soluble single superphosphate (SSP). A two-year field study was carried out to investigate the immediate and residual agronomic effectiveness of struvite and SSP in a perennial ryegrass pasture ( Lolium p...

Root-lesion nematodes, particularly Pratylenchus neglectus and P. crenatus (PNC), are widely distributed in New Zealand and cause significant damage to maize roots, reducing crop productivity. Despite their economic importance, no comprehensive assessment of commercial maize hybrids’ resistance to PNC has been conducted in the country. Significant variation was observed in the nematode reproduction factor ( Rf ) and final popu...

Phosphorus (P) is a finite resource and an essential macronutrient for plant growth. The importance of low soil P availability in constraining plant biomass responses to elevated CO 2 (eCO 2 ) is increasingly recognized. P fertilization could alleviate these constraints, but biogeochemical feedbacks under eCO 2 may diminish the effectiveness of P fertilizer in raising soil P availability. Here, we present data from a botanical...

In 2016, a group of experts convened to set priorities for organic phosphorus (P) research, addressing global issues, methodological strengths and weaknesses, and the benefits of understanding the organic P cycle. Seven years later, scientists and students with an interest in organic P reconvened to discuss progress and new insights, and this review highlights recent major research updates. Interest in organic P research has i...

A defining feature of the Anthropocene is the distortion of the biosphere phosphorus (P) cycle. A relatively sudden acceleration of input fluxes without a concomitant increase in output fluxes has led to net accumulation of P in the terrestrial‐aquatic continuum. Over the past century, P has been mined from geological deposits to produce crop fertilizers. When P inputs are not fully removed with harvest of crop biomass, the re...

Microbial community structure and function were assessed in the organic and upper mineral soil across a ~4000‐year dune‐based chronosequence at Big Bay, New Zealand, where total P declined and the proportional contribution of organic soil in the profile increased with time. We hypothesized that the organic and mineral soils would show divergent community evolution over time with a greater dependency on the functionality of pho...