Olivine weathering in soil, and its effects on growth and nutrient uptake in Ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.): a pot experiment.

Mineral carbonation of basic silicate minerals regulates atmospheric CO(2) on geological time scales by locking up carbon. Mining and spreading onto the earth's surface of fast-weathering silicates, such as olivine, has been proposed to speed up this natural CO(2) sequestration ('enhanced weathering'). While agriculture may offer an existing infrastructure, weathering rate and impacts on soil and plant are largely unknown.