Biological Properties of Soil

U.I. Samarawickrama
Dept. of Soil Science,
Faculty of Agriculture,
University of Ruhuna
Composition of Organic Matter in Soil
• Overall soil health is determine by the status of Soil Physical,
Chemical and Biological properties
• Optimal state of soil physical and chemical environment will lead to
maintain an optimal soil biological environment that drives to
enhance soil productivity.
• Different soil parameters (ex. soil physical, chemical and biological
parameters) are used as soil health indicators to assess the state of
different soil functions such as nutrient and cycling, infiltration, soil
respiration etc.
• These indicators can be used to recommend or customize soil / land
management practices to improve soil health and productivity.
Difference between a Brick and Soil
Mineral Fraction Only Mineral + Organic

Healthy soil is abundance of life.

• Agricultural productivity in soil is greatly influence by the living component
in soil.
• The diversity of organisms in a healthy soil range from single cell to small
vertebrates, and plants
• A variety of approaches can be used to assess soil life such as counting soil
organisms, measuring biomass, measuring microbial activity and measuring
diversity (DNA) etc.
• Assessing soil life is done by collecting quantitative data from marked
location and observed the variation over time or compare with related
environments
• Biological properties of soil showcase the direct and indirect influence
of living organisms existing in a particular soil.
• It reflects how well-suited a soil is to support life.
• Key components to study regarding the biological fraction of soil
• Active and Total Carbon
• Organic Matter
• Enzymes
• Soil fauna (macro, meso and micro)
• Respiration
• Nitrogen Fixation
Why we should concern about Soil
Biology???
• Soil as a sink and a source
• Nutrients
• Carbon
• Water
• Heat

Cycling
Who is doing the cycling?
Is it possible to consider soil as an ecosystem???

• An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and other

organisms, as well as weather and landscape, work together to form a
bubble of life.
• Ecosystems contain biotic or living, parts, as well as abiotic factors,
or nonliving parts.
• Biotic factors include plants, animals, and other organisms etc., where
abiotic factors include rocks, temperature, and humidity etc.
• Every factor in an ecosystem depends on every other factor, either
directly or indirectly.
• A change in the temperature of an ecosystem will often affect
what plants will grow there, for instance.
• Animals that depend on plants for food and shelter will have
to adapt to the changes, move to another ecosystem, or perish.
 Organic Matter in Soil

• Soil organic matter consist with all non-mineral solids in soil, arising
from biological tissues, byproducts, and wastes
• Sources:
• Plants origin – roots, vegetative parts etc
• Animal Origin – Dead bodies, Faeces
• Forms:
• Living biomass, recognizable plant residues, substances no longer identifiable as
plant/animal material – amorphous and colloidal mixture known as “Humus”
• Soil organic matter includes a range of chemical constituents, from
simple sugars to complex molecules and partially decomposed
particles.
• Organic matter imparts a variety of chemical and physical benefits on
soil and it is the foundation of the soil food web.
• Soil organic matter is an important indicator of soil health.
• Humus:
• Not just material with plant origin
• Result of synthesis and decomposition

• Humic substances
• 60 – 80 % of SOM
• Complex structures (aromatic rings like phenols etc)
• Highly resistant
• Dark in color
• Amorphous
Non humic substances
• 20 – 30 % of SOM
• Less complex
• Less resistant to MO attacks
• Have bio-molecules with definite physical and chemical properties
• Synthesized or modified
Functions of humus
• Maintain OM content even over thousands of years
• Protecting nutrients
• Ion exchange sites
• Give color to soil
• Maintain soil physical/chemical properties
• Formation of chelates
• Help in mineral weathering
Total Organic Carbon

• Total organic carbon (C) is the portion of soil organic matter made up
of organic C.
• Measurement is usually via high-temperature soil combustion (LOI) or
chemical oxidation (Walkey Black).
• This property is of widespread interest due to the potential of the soil
to sequester C that would otherwise contribute to climate change as
CO2 in the atmosphere, as well as the importance of soil organic
matter to local soil fertility.
Enzymes

• Soil enzymes are specialized proteins associated with soil microbes,

humic colloids, and clay minerals.
• These enzymes combine with specific soil substrates (substances being
acted upon) to catalyze biochemical reactions, and mainly serve to
release available nutrients and energy by increasing both the
decomposition rates of plant residues and the mineralization rates of
nutrients.
• More common enzymes serving roles in soil reactions include
amidase, cellulase, chitinase, dehydrogenase, glucosidase, hydrolase,
phosphatase, protease, sulphatase, and urease etc.
Soil Organisms
Classification of soil organisms

• Based on origin
• Soil Flora and Fauna
• Based on size
• Micro, Meso and Macro
• Based on trophic level:
• Producers, Consumers and Decomposers
• Autotrophs (Chemoautotrophs, Photoautotrophs)
• Heterotrophs
Earthworms

• Earthworms are tubular, segmented, soil-burrowing members of the

phylum Annelida.
• Probably one of the most important soil fauna (Not a pest at all)
• 1800 + species in the world and depend on detritus
• Through their movements and actions in soil, earthworms have the
ability to alter soil characteristics by
• Decomposing OM and make nutrients more available
• Stimulating microbial activity [Partially digest soil and OM
(Chemically/Physically) & Cast production)
• Mixing mineral particles and organic matter
• Enhancing porosity, infiltration, and aeration in soil
• Reduce soil erosion
• Increasing soil water holding capacity
• Earthworms itself is a fertilizer when dead
Termites
• Around 2000 species around the world
• Wide distribution – Cover almost 2/3 of the world
• Prominent in tropical regions – Grass lands, Rain
forests
• Dead wood & live wood feeding
• Fungus gardens - The termites construct spongelike
“fungus gardens,” or combs, possibly of fecal
matter rich in the carbohydrate lignin. The fungi
grow on the combs, and the termites consume both
fungi and combs.
• Functions
• Earth movers (Mounds/Termitaries) may not up to
EW’s level
• Breaking down of OM (Not as good as EW ?)
• Recycling of nutrients
• Improve Soil physical properties
Ants
• Estimated number of Species - 22,000 +
• Worldwide distribution except poles
• Many functions in ecosystems
• Earth movers
• Sneak seeds and store
• Supporting decomposition
• Fungi cultivators
Soil Meso Fauna
Springtail
Class Insecta
Order Collembola

60 X
Soil mite

Class Aracnida
Order Acarina

60 X
Sowbugs
Class Crustacea

15 X
Nematodes
• Nematodes are very small, slender roundworms in
the phylum Nematoda, (typically about 5 to 100
µm thick, and 0.1 to 2.5 mm long.)
• Often classified by feeding (trophic) groups such
as herbivores, bacterivores, fungivores, predators,
omnivores, and unknown/free-living.
• Nematodes contribute to soil quality by
• Mineralizing soil nutrients to plant-available forms
• Controlling the populations of other soil organisms
• Suppressing disease-causing organisms
• Dispersing microorganism, and serving as a food
source for other organisms.
Soil Microorganisms
• Microorganisms are groups of very small organisms for which the soil
is the natural habitat, and which may include groups such as bacteria,
fungi, protozoans, algae, and actinomycetes.
• The organisms play crucial roles in soil formation, soil structure,
fertility, aeration and drainage.
Fungi
• Fungi are extremely diverse microscopic plant-like cells
which grow as long strands called hyphae, which in turn
create masses known as mycelium.
• About 700 species have been identified representing 170
genera
• Aerobic but some can survive under low O2 and high CO2
conditions
• Three types
• Yeasts – Single cell, mostly found in anaerobic conditions
• Moulds – Filamentous, Hyphae/ Myceleum
• Mushroom fungi – Filamentous, Fruiting bodies prominent
• Four most common genera
• Penicillium, Mucor, Fusarium, Aspergillus
• Soil conditions determine the dominance

• Functions
• One of the chief decomposers & important in nutrient cycling
• Important in compound transformation
• Micorrhysal associations
• Component of lichens
• Source of protein for termites and some ant species
• Breaking toxic compounds
• Disease suppression
• Water fluctuation and ecosystem regulators.
Bacteria
• Bacteria are microscopic one-celled organisms
and exist as colonies
• Most diverse soil organism group (1g soil contain
20,000 species)
• Most are heterotrophs and primarily serve as
decomposers but can also function in the soil as
partners with plants
• Most are highly resistant to harsh conditions
• Growth affected by
• Availability of Oxygen, Temperature, pH,
Amt. and nature of OM
Functions:
• Organic/inorganic transformations
• Decomposition
• Ability to act on pollutants
• Nitrogen fixation
Actenomycetes
• More similar to bacteria
• Also called actinobacteria
• Unicellular, prokaryotes
• Size same as bacteria
• Now classified under Kingdom Monera
• Most are aerobic heterotrophs, some parasitic or symbiotic
• May produce antibiotics
• Prefer moist warm aerated conditions, Survive well in dry whether than other organisms
• Number second only to bacteria
• The smell just after rain started!

• Importance
• Decomposers - Specially hard material
Algae
• Several hundred species found
• Most are photo-autotrophs
• Live near the soil
• Few heterotrophic species
• Found below ground
• Prefer wet conditions
• Association with other organisms

• Functions
• Soil disintegration with the association with fungi
• In favourable conditions produce substantial amount of OM
Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF)

• Nitrogen fixation is the conversion of di-nitrogen, which is an inert

gas, to reduced forms of nitrogen that are biologically available.
• This chemical reaction is an important process that regulates the
nitrogen cycle and nitrogen availability in soil
• It is performed by specialized bacteria, either in symbiosis with plant
hosts or as free-living cells.
• Rhizobia are a general term for the types
of bacteria that associate with legume
plants to form nodules on roots, where
nitrogen fixation occurs.
• Legumes and rhizobia can be used in a
crop rotation to enhance nitrogen cycling
in soils and reduce or replace synthetic
fertilizer additions
Respiration
• Respiration is the carbon dioxide released from the soil due to the
biological activity of soil organisms, including soil fauna, plant roots,
microbes, and the rhizosphere.
Factors affect on population and diversity
of soil organisms
Decrease Increase
• Pesticides • Fertilizer and liming
• Soil Erosion • Erosion control
• Cropping patterns • Application of manure
• Land manipulation • Balanced irrigation
• Sewage and other industrial • Soil drainage and aeration
effluents • Minimal soil manipulation
Thank You