Biology 1290B Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Rhizobacteria, Aerobic Organism, Siderophore
20 Oct 2015
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Document Summary
Soils are very complex materials chemically and physically, they are often layered and there are many types. Soils hold huge numbers of microbes; bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa, microscopic animals. The world is dependent on microbial ecosystems for development of healthy soils so that. Dead plant and animal materials are recycled to make them available again (decomposers perform this function) There is a reservoir of microbes involved in the mineral cycles we mentioned earlier: n2 and co2 cycles. Much of the dead organic matter on land ends up in the soil and is decomposed by bacteria and fungi and also protozoa and microscopic or small animals. This renders the organic material into a friable (crumbly) state which contributes to the structure of soils. Much of the organic material in soil is decomposed into basic simple inorganic molecules such as carbonates, sulfates, nitrates, nitrites, amino acid nitrogen, ammonia which can then be assimilated by plants.
