You should be able to state the benefits and limitations of organic fertilizers and synthetic ones. You should be able to link the subject to other areas such as ecology – for example, a grower may use green manure, but can these also benefit wildlife like bees? What are the wider implications if we use fertilizers indiscriminately? You should be capable of explaining eutrophication and how this impacts the health of rivers and other waterways and be able to state that some growing methods need artificial fertilizers, such as hydroponics. pH has a big impact on nutrient availability, and you should be able to explain the relationship between the pH of the soil and nutrient uptake by plants. You should also include the role of fungi – how do they help improve nutrient uptake in many plants? You should also include the role of fungi – how do they help improve nutrient uptake in many plants? Do they gain anything from associations with plants? You should also be able to link this to the broader concepts including how growers can select plants suited to the conditions (pH and soil) they have, to reduce the need for amelioration. You might link healthy plants and using plants as soil enrichers (e.g., green manures) to also help with increasing biodiversity. You should be able to relate soil pH to plant choice clearly – there are plants suited to neutral, alkaline, and acid soils and you should be able to suggest examples. Also, you should be able to state how soil is assessed in, for example, a garden – the W shape method, and how soils’ pH may be changed with ameliorants like lime and how this might be applied.
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