Harnessing the activity of soil microorganisms is currently underutilized in sustainable agricultural management. One such underutilized microbial approach, referred to as reverse fertilization, is a practice that involves introducing substantial quantities of high carbon:nitrogen (C:N) amendments into the soil. The surplus of carbon stimulates the growth of soil microorganisms and triggers microbial scavenging of soil nitrogen, resulting in nitrogen immobilization within microbial cells. Immobilized nitrogen becomes temporarily unavailable for plant uptake, affecting plant competitive interactions. Most applied research using this technique focuses on controlling invasive plants in disturbed habitats to help reestablish native plant communities, which are often sensitive to high-nitrogen soils. However, reverse fertilization is not currently a standard practice in agricultural systems, hence this review explores the feasibility of adopting this management strategy in cropping systems. An analysis of the restoration ecology literature suggested that perennials, legumes and plants with higher root:shoot ratios were more resilient in nitrogen immobilized soils than annuals, non-nitrogen-fixing plants and plants with lower root:shoot ratios. Based on these contrasting responses, there is potential to improve and increase the use of reverse fertilization as a weed management tool in agroecosystems. This tool, along with other ecologically-based methods, can be incorporated into farm-scale prescriptive management programs to improve the sustainability and productivity of cropping systems.

中文翻译：

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微生物氮固定化作为农业生态系统杂草管理的工具

目前，在可持续农业管理中，利用土壤微生物的活性尚未得到充分利用。一种未充分利用的微生物方法，称为反向施肥，是一种向土壤中引入大量高碳：氮（C：N）改良剂的做法。过剩的碳刺激土壤微生物的生长并引发微生物对土壤氮的清除，导致氮固定在微生物细胞内。固定氮暂时无法被植物吸收，影响植物的竞争性相互作用。大多数使用该技术的应用研究都集中在控制受干扰栖息地中的入侵植物，以帮助重建通常对高氮土壤敏感的本地植物群落。然而，反向施肥目前并不是农业系统中的标准做法，因此本综述探讨了在种植系统中采用这种管理策略的可行性。对恢复生态学文献的分析表明，多年生植物、豆科植物和根冠比较高的植物比一年生植物、非固氮植物和根冠比较低的植物在氮固定土壤中的恢复能力更强。基于这些对比反应，有可能改进和增加反施肥作为农业生态系统杂草管理工具的使用。该工具与其他基于生态的方法一起可以纳入农场规模的规范管理计划，以提高耕作系统的可持续性和生产力。