A recent study, published in CATENA, highlights how patch size influences soil phosphorus fractions in biological soil crusts in the Gurbantunggut Desert, China. Led by Prof. Zhang Yuanming from ...

Iron oxides, traditionally seen as phosphorus "sinks," are now recognized as efficient natural catalysts that convert organic phosphorus into its inorganic form, essential for plant growth.

Most phosphorus in the environment is in an organic form that plants cannot directly use, and traditional understanding suggested only enzymes could convert it into the bioavailable inorganic form.