How do organisms break down organic matter in the soil and sustaining soil health? What’s relationship between organic matter and soil fertility?
@ Vineet, relationship between organic matter and soil fertility is very positive as organic matter helps to enhance soil fertility and quality by improving the soil's capacity to store and supply essential nutrients (such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium), and to retain toxic elements. Micro-organisms, earthworms and insects help break down crop residues and manures by ingesting them and mixing them with the minerals in the soil, and in the process recycling energy and plant nutrients.
Soil organic matter can affect the soil physical condition or physical health and the chemical condition or health and the biological condition or health.
The physical condition of the soil is made less dense from soil organic matter This soil organic takes compacted mineral material and the fluffy organic matter loosen it this can be measured by soil density.
The chemical condition is improved as soil organic matter improves the mineral contents.
Soil organic matter serves as food for diverse communities of animals such asn insects and earthworms and microbes like fungi and bacteria.
Most organisms in soil play neutral and positive roles and a small number are pathogens.
When overall diversity and populations of soil organisms are high the pathogenic component of soil is put into check.
minerals physical condition and biology are all important for productive soils the flluffy factor provides the water and air needed for robust crop production, the biology and air capacity of soils is related to organic matter content and organic matter is a basis of biological diversity and populations which is highly favorable.
Many soils particularly those with major clay amounts show compction. Soil orgnic matter helps maintain the open structure and the soil organic matter is stabilized by optimizing callcium which aggregates the soil structure. Liming of acid soils is very important.
The effect of sealed compacte condition is to reduce water percolation into the soil increasase erosion from the soil surface and to eliminate air speces.
In dry coditions the slat issue seals the soil and use of gypsum to replace salt and the inclusion of orgatter remediates those issue increase the water dynamics also.
Alkaline soils can be sulphured to reduce the salizty issue and get near neutral pH.
The plan to increase organic should start with detailed soil analysis.
Its starts wirh breakdown of ligno-cellulosic material by soil fungi only they can produce the enzymes to take apart resistant crop residue. Once a soil slips into a bacterial dominant direction soil and plant problems come next. Volatile organic compouts proded by these soil fungi can product the plant from disease and helps plant growth. Maintenance of soil favor good fungal conditions. An acid or alkaline low in organic matter. That tests low on biological activity. A dead soil.
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