What are ecological and environmental role of soil microorganisms and application of soil microorganisms in forest ecosystem?
Soil shelters a plethora of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Their type and abundance are mainly decided by environmental factors (climatic that affects physiological functioning, biotic that have competitive and complementary interactions, and edaphic which reflects the availability of organic fractions or food sources in soil). Generally, soil organisms are like partners of plants. They facilitate nutrient cycling by providing the available forms of nutrients. For e.g Nitrogen fixation by rhizobium. The fungal groups form symbiotic associations with plants called mycorrhizae which are known to increase surface area for absorption and make the availability of phosphors which plants find difficult to absorb.
Micro-organisms plays an important role during the life-cycle as well as afterlife of plants. If we look into forests, then its a home to diverse species ranging from micro flora to macroflora; microfauna to macrofauna. In forests, wood decay can not happen without the activity of micro-organisms. They actively participate in the decomposition process and breaks the complex organic fractions (e.g ligno-cellulosic compounds) into simpler forms. There is significant contribution of micro-organism in the nutrient cycling of forest ecosystem.
Bioremediation - a term in trend, signifies the role of using micro-organisms in detoxifying soil and other environment.
Phytoremediation is another term that remediates the soil with its associated microbiota through phytoextraction, phytostabilisation and bioaccumulation.
The vast majority of this diversity (abundance and richness) can be attributed to soil microbes. They, in turn, provide essential regulating, provisioning, and supporting ecosystem services, such as C and nutrient cycling that underpin global agricultural production. Due to their close proximity to plant roots, soil microbes significantly affect soil and crop health. Some of the activities they perform include nitrogen-fixation, phosphorus solubilization, suppression of pests and pathogens, improvement of plant stress, and decomposition that leads to soil aggregation. Soil microbes play an important role in forest ecosystems through decomposition of organic matter, carbon and nutrient cycling, humic compound incorporation into mineral soils, and linking plant and ecosystem function. Microorganisms play an important role in the nutrient cycle. Some bacteria (Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria) secrete phytochemicals and organic acids that are helpful in the growth and development of plants. Microorganisms help maintain soil pH but balance nutrients and minerals. Within food plant cropping systems, microorganisms provide vital functions and ecosystem services, such as biological pest and disease control, promotion of plant growth and crop quality, and biodegradation of organic matter and pollutants. The main effects of the presence of microorganisms in the soil are: Improved plant nutrition. Microorganisms increase the source of nitrogen in the soil, or they can supply it directly to the plant, as they have the ability to take and set nitrogen from the atmosphere.