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14: Mineral nutrition

  • Page ID
    150556
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    • 14.1: Prelude to Soil and Plant Nutrition
      This chapter will explore the complex dynamics between plants and soils, and the adaptations that plants have evolved to make better use of nutritional resources.
    • 14.2: Nutritional Requirements of Plants
      Plants are unique organisms that can absorb nutrients and water through their root system, as well as carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Soil quality and climate are the major determinants of plant distribution and growth. The combination of soil nutrients, water, and carbon dioxide, along with sunlight, allows plants to grow.
    • 14.3: The Soil
      Soil is the outer loose layer that covers the surface of Earth. Soil quality is a major determinant, along with climate, of plant distribution and growth. Soil quality depends not only on the chemical composition of the soil, but also the topography (regional surface features) and the presence of living organisms. In agriculture, the history of the soil, such as the cultivating practices and previous crops, modify the characteristics and fertility of that soil.
    • 14.4: Nutritional Adaptations of Plants
      Plants obtain food in two different ways. Autotrophic plants can make their own food from inorganic raw materials, such as carbon dioxide and water, through photosynthesis in the presence of sunlight. Green plants are included in this group. Some plants, however, are heterotrophic: they are totally parasitic and lacking in chlorophyll. These plants, referred to as holo-parasitic plants, are unable to synthesize organic carbon and draw all of their nutrients from the host plant.
    • 14.E: Soil and Plant Nutrition (Exercises)


    This page titled 14: Mineral nutrition is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Tom Buckley.

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