Bacteria and fungi play essential roles in agriculture and the environment in several key ways:
Nutrient Cycling: They decompose organic matter, recycling nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur back into the soil. For example, Rhizobium bacteria in legume root nodules can fix atmospheric nitrogen, converting it into a form plants can use.
Disease Suppression: Certain bacteria and fungi can suppress plant pathogens. Bacillus subtilis, a bacterium found in soil, has been used as a biopesticide due to its ability to inhibit various fungal pathogens.
Plant Growth Promotion: Some bacteria and fungi facilitate plant growth directly by producing hormones or indirectly by assisting in nutrient uptake. Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria can promote plant growth by producing a plant hormone called indole-3-acetic acid (IAA).
Soil Structure Improvement: They contribute to soil aggregation, which improves soil structure and water-holding capacity. A study in the journal "Soil Biology and Biochemistry" found that a single teaspoon of rich garden soil could hold up to one billion bacteria.
Carbon Sequestration: Fungi play a key role in carbon sequestration. According to a study published in "Science" in 2011, fungi could sequester up to 70% of the carbon stored in soil.
Mycorrhizal Associations: Over 90% of plant species have mycorrhizal associations with fungi, improving nutrient and water uptake. A study in "New Phytologist" in 2015 estimated that the total biomass of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi worldwide is equivalent to the fifth of the weight of the world's total human population.
Bacteria and fungi play such integral roles in agriculture and the environment that it's impossible to quantify their full impact. However, the data mentioned provide a glimpse into their importance.
The fungi ability to produce a wide variety of extracellular enzymes, they are able to break down all kinds of organic matter, decomposing soil components and thereby regulating the balance of carbon and nutrients for maintain soil health. These microorganisms increase the nutrient bioavailability through nitrogen fixation and mobilization of key nutrients to the crop plants while remediate soil structure by improving its aggregation and stability. These organisms fix atmospheric nitrogen and supply it to plants. Biological fertilizers obtained from microorganisms are very good for improving soil quality and fertility. They are also environmentally friendly and do not cause any toxic or dangerous effects.Bacteria and fungi feed on dead and decaying organic matter and convert complex organic molecules into simple ones. Thus, they perform the role of decomposers.Bacteria and fungi both act as decomposers within an ecosystem, making them crucial in any ecosystem. This means they break down dead or decaying matter in order to gain their nutrients.Bacteria decompose dead organic matter and releases simple compounds in the soil, which can be taken up by plants. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria fix atmospheric nitrogen and increase the nitrogen content of the soil, which can be readily absorbed by plants. The fungi have important functions in the environment including: in symbiotic mutualisms; in nutrient cycling, retention, and formation of soil structure; as food in food webs; and in the creation of microhabitats and aiding in succession processes in habitats. Through mycorrhizae the plant obtains mainly phosphate and other minerals, such as zinc and copper, from the soil. The fungus obtains nutrients, such as sugars, from the plant root. This mutually beneficial relationship is a mycorrhizae network. Soil bacteria and soil fungi are the start of the soil food web that supports other soil organisms and the functions of a healthy soil. Diverse populations of soil bacteria and fungi can suppress root diseases. Soil bacteria and fungi are encouraged by ground cover and organic matter inputs.