Phosphorus dynamics in the environment
Citation
Mackey, K.R.M., Van Mooy, B., Cade-Menun, B.J., Paytan, A. 2019. Phosphorus dynamics in the environment. p. 506-519. In: Schmidt, T.M., ed. Encyclopedia of Microbiology, 4th Edition. Elsevier, Inc. 3199 pp.
Plain language summary
Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient required by all organisms. This book chapter is a review of knowledge about P dynamics in the environment, and describes P cycling in terrestrial and aquatic environments. It includes a discussion of the global P cycling, including sources, sinks and transport pathways of P in the environment. It also includes a discussion of P transformation by microbes and microbial responses to human-caused changes to the P cycle. This is a chapter in the on-line Encyclopedia of Microbiology, and is aimed at university undergraduates.