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| I just took a look at some studies evaluating how soil test nutrient levels change over time after prairie restoration.
Prairie restoration generally leads to a DECLINE in soil test nutrient levels such as nitrate - N, and soil test extractable phosphorus and sulfur, as vegetation and soil organic matter act as sinks that immobilize nutrients formerly present in more available forms in ag soils. Nitrate-N declines much faster than soil test P but the long-term trend in P is a change from higher soil test P levels in ag soils toward lower soil test P levels in restored prairie, reducing the risk of phosphorus runoff and water quality impairment.
Lower soil test levels after prairie restoration do NOT mean that the nutrients have been lost but rather that they have been immobilized.
Natural ecosystems tend to be much less leaky than farms with respect to nutrients because the nutrients are mostly tied up in forms that are not easily lost.
Seems logical that similar processes occur when a crop field is converted to CRP.
Joel
WIU Agriculture
Edited by jbgruver 1/23/2026 15:24
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Where is all the available nutrients
