The use of natural and artificial fertilisers to replace nitrates and phosphates lost by harvesting plants and removing livestock
When farmers harvest crops or remove animals, they take nutrients out of the soil permanently. Fertilisers — either natural or artificial — replace the nitrates and phosphates that would otherwise be gone.
Real World
UK wheat farmers apply ammonium nitrate fertiliser each spring because a single harvest removes roughly 120 kg of nitrogen per hectare that would otherwise have been recycled by decomposers.
Exam Focus
Compare natural vs artificial fertilisers — state that natural ones release ions slowly via decomposition, while artificial ones are immediately soluble.
Evaluation Scaffold
A four-step framework for high-quality evaluation. Use this for 'assess', 'evaluate', and 'to what extent' questions.
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