Metagenomic analysis identified organic nitrogen metabolism as the key process underlying enhanced soil nitrogen retention after partial organic substitution of chemical fertilizers
We conducted a two year consecutive 15N labeled pot experiment by using soils from a 36 year long term fertilization experiment: chemical fertilizer, chemical N replaced by partial organic N, and no fertilization. Metagenomic sequencing was used to analyze N cycling microbial taxa response to the fate of fertilizer N.