What is the role of microorganisms in productivity of ecosystem and what are ecological and environmental role of soil microorganisms?
Microorganisms like bacteria and fungi, act as decomposers as they break down the dead and decaying organisms into simpler nutrients that mix with the soil. These nutrients are absorbed by plants during photosynthesis. 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. 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 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, which underpin global agricultural production
-Microorganisms play important roles in the productivity of ecosystems.
They are involved in decomposition, which breaks down dead plant and animal matter and recycles nutrients back into the ecosystem
-Microorganisms also produce oxygen and are involved in the carbon cycle
- Soil microorganisms help to maintain soil fertility, improve soil structure, protect against soil-borne diseases, and contribute to the cycling of nutrients and the breakdown of organic matter in the soil
Bacteria perform many important ecosystem services in the soil including improved soil structure and soil aggregation, recycling of soil nutrients, and water recycling. Soil bacteria form micro aggregates in the soil by binding soil particles together with their secretions. The most significant effect of the microbes on earth is their ability to recycle the primary elements that make up all living systems, especially carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen. Primary production involves photosynthetic organisms which take up CO2 from the atmosphere and convert it to organic material. Bacteria play many roles in our ecosystem. Bacteria are decomposers which break down dead material and recycle it. They also can be producers, making food from sunlight, such as photosynthetic bacteria, or chemicals, such as chemosynthetic bacteria. This is because microorganisms decompose dead organic waste of plants and animals converting them into simple substances. These substances are again used by other plants and animals. Thus, microorganisms can be used to degrade harmful and odourific substances and clean up the environment. 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.Microorganisms like bacteria and fungi, act as decomposers as they break down the dead and decaying organisms into simpler nutrients that mix with the soil. These nutrients are absorbed by plants during photosynthesis. In microbial energy technologies, microorganisms make fuels out of raw organic materials, thereby converting the chemical energy in the biomass into chemical energy in the form of ethanol or hydrogen. In addition, microbes can convert solar energy to hydrogen.
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