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    Lecture No 26 Soil Biology

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    yamunavaddepudi

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    Lecture No 26 Soil Biology

    Uploaded by

    yamunavaddepudi
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    1 views2 pages

    Lecture No 26 Soil Biology

    Uploaded by

    yamunavaddepudi

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    LECTURE NO: 26

    SOIL BIOLOGY
     Soil Biology – Introduction
     Types of organisms in soil & their important characters
     Functions of soil organisms - Beneficial & Harmful activities of soil organisms

     Soil biology deals with soil ecology- the organisms and their role in biological
    transformation in soil.
     Soil is a living body and contains millions of living organisms and these organisms
    are present in the soil pores or pore space of soil.
     The physical and chemical characteristics of soil determine the nature of environment
    in which vast number of soil organisms are found.
     Living organisms in soils include both macro (large in size) and micro organisms
    (small in size)
     The macro-organisms churn the soil, mix in organic residues and modify the
    physical condition of soils
     The micro-organisms take part in the decomposition of organic residues,
    transformation of different nutrient elements like N,P, S, Fe etc and other biological
    processes that are occurring in soils which in turn help to increase the productivity
    through the supply of essential nutrients to plants.
     Therefore both macro and micro organisms are of significance in the intricate
    biological processes occurring in soils.
     The number & types of organisms in soil are influenced by many factors like
    climate, vegetation & soil properties.
     Types or species of organisms in cultivated soils are different from that of
    uncultivated soils.
     The species & number of organisms are different in different soils like Desert soils,
    Forest soils, Fallow soils, soils of arid region, humid region etc.,
    BIOMASS:
     The weight of soil organisms per unit volume of soil.

    FUNCTIONS OF SOIL ORGANISMS


    A. BENEFICIAL ACTIVITIES OF SOIL ORGANISMS:
     Help in weathering of rocks & minerals
     Help in soil formation & soil development
     Help in improvement / development of desirable / good soil structure by secretion of
    gummy substances.
     Help in decomposition of OM
     Play role in nutrient transformations.
     Eg :NH4+ → NO3-, S → SO4-2
     Help in fixation of atmospheric Nitrogen
     Help in solubilization of insoluble ’P’ compounds
     Help in solubilization of insoluble ‘S’ compounds
     Help in detoxification of soil pollutants

    1
     Help in production of soil enzymes, growth promoting substances and antibiotics
     Protects plant roots from infection by parasites and pathogens.
    B. HARMFUL ACTIVITIES OF SOIL ORGANISMS:
     Offers lot of competition to higher plants in utilizing available nutrients in soil and
    soil moisture
     May lead to loss of nutrients from soil by transformation (Denitrification)
     May transform some nutrients to unavailable form (K, Zn etc) and some nutrients to
    toxic levels (Fe, Mn etc) in anaerobic conditions or acid soils.
     In anaerobic condition (Poor drainage) they deplete O 2 from soil and hamper normal
    crop growth.
     Macro organisms like rodents, termites, insect larvae, nematodes cause great damage
    to crops.
     Fungi, Bacteria and Actinomycetes are responsible for development of many soil
    borne diseases of crops.

    Type of organisms Source of Carbon Source of Energy

    Photo Autotrophic CO2 Sunlight

    Chemo Autotrophic CO2 Chemicals

    Heterotrophic Organic residues Organic residues

    **********************

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