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 Microorganisms - Information on the top microbe related searches. Covering bacteria, effective and harmful microbes as well as microbe pictures, details of microorganisms in water and the living soil and more.
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Living soil and microorganisms abound, here you will find details of these micrflora such as fungi, bacteria and algae with links to other research sites for further information about the living soil and microorganisms.
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introduction
How often do farmers walk or drive over their fields, apply inputs and harvest crops with little thought to life beneath
the soil surface and how they affect it. But there is plenty going on underfoot, and learning more about the living soil and microorganisms can make
us better farmers.
Without soil organisms, processes like decomposition, mineralization, and degradation or potential pollutants would
not occur. We need microorganisms and should strive to encourage their survival.
The living soil and microorganisms
A simple approach to studying soil organisms is by dividing them first into two groups: Animals
(fauna) and Plants (flora).
Next, the groups can be broken down further into more manageable divisions based on size of the organism: large, medium,
and small or Macro- Meso- and Micro- with the definitions for each size group as :
Macro organisms are considered to be larger than 2 mm in diameter, Meso organisms
are between 2 mm and 0.2 mm in diameter and Micro organisms are less than 0.2 mm - normally needing a magnifying glass or
microscope to observe them.
Microflora include the Living soil and microorganisms fungi, bacteria, actinomycetes and algae.
more information
A single gram of soil (about 1/5 teaspoon) can contain over 100 million bacteria, 1 million actinomycetes and 100,000
fungi with hyphae if strung together would measure 5 metres in length. The weight of these organisms would only account
for 0.05 percent of the weight of the soil. Living soil and microorganisms. The size of a single bacteria is approximately 1 micron or 1 millionth of a
metre - 100,000 bacteria placed end to end would measure 1 cm. - Wow !
The exact proportions of each of these organisms will depend on soil conditions such as available moisture, aeration,
organic matter levels and the type of plants present. Chemical conditions such as acidity and alkalinity will greatly
affect organism populations. Living soil and microorganisms. Fungi like acidic soils, actinomycetes more alkaline conditions.
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the importance of microorganisms in soil
Although very small, the living soil and microorganisms have an importance in soil which far outweighs their size. They decompose plant and
animal residues, synthesize humus, cycle nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen. The chemical by-products of microbial
reactions bind together soil particles into stable aggregates that resist erosion.
The most relevant links we could find, placed here free
 Soilhealth
- University of Western Australia have a section on their website about living soil health and microorganisms. ice.agric.uwa.edu.au
Living Soil
- Effective microorganisms as regenerative systems in earth healing. A range of info to do with soils, microorganisms, fertilisers and more. www.livingsoil.co.uk
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