I refuse to accept "substancial evidence" because I am applying the stricter standard you agreed to - scientific consensus.
the burden is on you, remember? you agreed to that. I'm not as selfless as microbeman, passing out studies to flesh out your conception of soil life. I'm content with stopping at first principles if the idea does not pass.
I've met the burden, there is broad scientific consensus. Multiple peer-reviewed articles back up my statements 100%
First you talk shit to p4p demanding scientific peer reviewed studies, and when faced with them you close your eyes, cover your ears and shout "NAH NAH NAH I CAN'T HEAR YOU, I'M RIGHT." Find some studies that say soil food webs collapse and soils become dead if you use fertilizers within the threshold described in the Zheng paper. Until then, we've got nothing to talk about.
Peace,
UB
EDIT: Since you're probably still not convinced, this paper provides a synthesis of over 100 different experiments conducted on the subject. The general findings are in line with what I have been saying. Valerie Eviner of the University of California describes this paper on the site Faculty of 1000 Biology:
In this synthesis of 100 studies of gross N cycling rates, the authors have demonstrated a number of new, powerful, and surprising generalizations about nitrogen cycling. This paper provides too many important findings to summarize briefly, but three highlights include: (1) proportionally more NH4 is nitrified (versus immobilized by microbes) in soils with low mineralization rates than in soils with high mineralization rates; (2) gross nitrification rates are not related to soil pH (in fact, some of the highest rates were seen in soils with a pH below 5); and (3) overall, fertilization did not impact any measure of N cycling. In addition to these points, this paper explores controls over N consumption and production across agricultural, grassland, and woody sites, as well as differences amongst these types of sites. It also compares net versus gross measures of N. Overall, this is a fabulous, comprehensive synthesis!