Introduction – MicroOrganisms in Soils and Composts
Tweet ThisIdentifying micro-biology in soil is the first step in understanding how we, as humans, are interconnected with the Earth. Below is a brief list and descriptions of the micro-biology contained in the soil system. Different plant communities require different amounts of these micro-orgasms in the soil. By growing compost we amend soil deficient in required micro-biology. It is also possible to change the entire micro-biology of soil to grow what we see fit to grow. For an example, annual plants require a higher concentration of bacteria than fungi, protists and/or nematodes. It is possible to prorogate all of these micro-organisms by supplying air and food while dissolved in water.
If you want to learn how to propagate soil micro-biology for soil amendments, click here. (Video)
Protists: The protists do not have much in common besides a relatively simple organization—either they are unicellular, or they are multicellular without specialized tissues. This simple cellular organization distinguishes the protists from other eukaryotes, such as fungi, animals and plants.
Protists live in almost any environment that contains liquid water. Many protists, such as the algae, are photosynthetic and are vital primary producers in ecosystems, particularly in the ocean as part of the plankton.
There place in the food web: They hold fixed nitrogen and make it available to plants through Ammonium. This is part of one of the nitrogen cycles. They create caverns in the soil to allow air to enter (reduce soil compaction). They are food for worms and nematodes.
To learn how Nitrogen is Fixed in soil, Click here.
What they eat: Protests eat Sea Kelp, bacteria and some parasitic to fungi.
Where to find them: They can be found on leave surfaces, ponds, compost piles, soils, worm compost bins and/or in smelly liquid water dripping from a pile of grass clippings.
Nematodes: Nematodes are non-segmented worms typically 1/500 of an inch (50 µm) in diameter and 1/20 of an inch (1 mm) in length. Those few species responsible for plant diseases have received a lot of attention, but far less is known about the majority of the nematode community that plays beneficial roles in soil.
An incredible variety of nematodes function at several trophic levels of the soil food web. Some feed on the plants and algae (first trophic level); others are grazers that feed on bacteria and fungi (second trophic level); and some feed on other nematodes (higher trophic levels).
There place in the food web: They hold fixed nitrogen and make it available to plants through Ammonium. This is part of one of the nitrogen cycles. They create caverns in the soil to allow air to enter (reduce soil compaction). They are food for worms and other nematodes.
What they eat: Nematodes eat fungi, bacteria and Protists, bacteria and some parasitic to each other.
Where to find them: They can be found in ponds, soils and worm compost bins. They have a long reproduction cycle, so they are not propagated in teas. They are added later, just before the tea is ready to apply.
To learn how to extract nematodes for Teas, Click here.
MicroArthopodes: Soil microarthropods are abundant small invertebrates that live in the soil and litter layer. Typical microarthropods include mites, springtails, pseudoscorpions, and insect larvae. These microarthropods can be important in controlling the rate of litter decomposition and altering nutrient cycling.
Fungi:
Bacteria
