Northwestern University researchers are actively overturning the conventional view of iron oxides as mere phosphorus "sinks." A critical nutrient for life, most phosphorus in the soil is organic—from ...

In the new study, Aristilde's group turned its focus to iron oxide minerals, which are associated with more than one-third of the organic carbon stored in soils. Specifically, the team examined ...

Plants and microbes are known to secrete enzymes to transform organic phosphorus into bioavailable inorganic phosphorus. Now, researchers report iron oxides can drive the same conversion at comparable ...

Scientists know iron oxide minerals store large amounts of carbon in soils, but lack a detailed, quantitative understanding of the specific chemical mechanisms that allow them to bind such a wide ...