Ecosystems

Use of Fertilisers in Agriculture

• Fertilisers can be used to artificially increase the nutrient content of soil
• This can make plants grow quicker, and become larger
• Artificial fertilisers
  o Made up of powders / pellets containing specific chemicals
  o Contain an exact concentration of chemicals, so are easy to apply
  o Easy to apply evenly to a field
  o Concentrated, so less is needed to obtain the same concentration over a field
  o More expensive, as artificial fertilisers are not waste products
• Natural Fertilisers
  o Made up of organic matter, containing dead or decomposing animal / plant remains, or faeces
  o Can help improve soil structure, reducing the impact of erosion
  o Nutrients are released over longer periods of time, and they are less concentrated, so more is needed
  o Harder to spread evenly
  o Unknown concentrations of nutrients