Consequently, the nitrogen status in natural ecosystems is nowdependent on the metabolic activity of plant-associatedmicrobiota, which in turn is sustained by large carbonsupplies derived from plants. In agricultural settings,however, the human need for an increasingly large plantbiomass has driven ecosystems outside of their safeboundaries (e.g., atmospheric N2O emissions havereached their highest levels in the past 650 000 years)threatening their resilience and function