Investigating the role of Spanish River Carbonatite in soil fertility

Boreal Agrominerals Inc.在安大略北方（靠近西班牙）拥有一个大型碳酸盐存款。该公司销售一种名为西班牙河碳酸盐岩（SRC）的产品。有机农场主将其用作土壤改良剂，人们也很有兴趣将其用于修复尾矿。由于SRC主要由碳酸钙组成，因此pH值的增加是其主要影响之一。然而，有一些证据表明，其他因素提供SCR与增强的能力，有利于植物营养相对于石灰。然而，要想成功，公司需要通过展示SRC的工作原理来证明它的工作原理。尽管SRC含有少量的植物有效氮和磷，但多种多样的健康植物覆盖了SRC存款。本项目将确定SCR存款中自然存在的植物群落。此外，我们将确定这些植物的营养状况，以及它们是否可以通过与土壤微生物的联系获得营养。预计这项研究将导致更多的研究，了解SRC如何最好地造福植物时，作为一个修正案，无论是修复或农业。

Boreal Agrominerals Inc. owns a large carbonatite deposit in northern Ontario (near Spanish). The company sells a product called Spanish River Carbonatite (SRC). It is used by organic farmers as a soil amendment and there is much interest in also using it to remediate mine tailings. Since SRC is primarily composed of calcium carbonate, increases in pH are one of its main effects. However, there is some evidence that other factors provide SCR with an enhanced ability to benefit plant nutrition relative to lime. However, to be successful, the company needs to demonstrate that SRC works by showing how it works. Even though SRC contains low amounts of plant available nitrogen and phosphorus, a wide diversity of healthy looking plants cover the SRC deposit. This project will determine the plant communities that naturally occur in the SCR deposit. In addition, we will determine the nutrient status of these plants and whether they may be accessing nutrients through associations with soil microbes. It is expected that this research will lead to additional research on understanding how SRC can best benefit plants when used as an amendment either for remediation or farming.