Learn more | Soil Resilience 1

So what is the soil food web?

The 'soil food web' can be thought of like our 'gut biome' that is responsible for digesting our food.
So too the soil has a biome that breaks down matter and releases nutrients in plant available form.
The plant swaps, sugars and carbon that are in excess, through it's root system.
It exchanges these for nutrients that the Fungi and Bacteria can supply.

There are 4 major groups that we count

Fungi: Secrete enzymes that can pull nutrients out of the sand, silts and clays, like Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, Boron, Iron, Nitrogen etc.. They decompose more complex materials, like proteins and carboydrates and woody matter. They work around the roots of a plant. Mycelium work directly inside of the roots and work with several plants at a time in symbiosis. The carbon they harvest from the plant lines their hyphea, (string like filament) and they grow in all directions deep down into the soil where they can capture whatever they need from the earth, (water and minerals) They can send up to the plant like electricity. OOh so clever!

Bacteria: Also secrete enzymes that pull off nutrients from the sand silts and clays. They like simple sugars and make glues which help stick particles together, creating micro and macro aggregates in the soil.

Protozoa:

These feed bacteria and cycle excess nutrients around the root zone in plant available form.

They also create pore spaces in the soil and feed in and around the aggregates moving them around.

Nematodes:

There are 4 groups of Nematode that we measure.

These can tell us a lot about the soil.

Bacterial feeders, Fungal feeders, Predatory feeders, and Root feeders.

The plant absorbs carbon out of the atmosphere and blows off oxygen as a by-product. The carbon stays in the plant and forms the backbone of all the organic compounds in the plant. But it needs energy to do this and it gets the energy from the sun called photosynthesis. The energy is converted into simple sugars which feed the bacteria and some are turned into more complex sugars like amino acids and proteins which are food for fungi and bacteria. But the plant can't live on sugars alone and needs nutrients like nitrogen, calcium, potassium etc.. So the plant will put out exudates out of the roots, these are like a plants waste product, and this attracts fungi and bacteria. If there is enough organic matter in the soil and the soil hasn't been disturbed for a time, fungi and bacteria will be present and will be attracted by these exudates. While the fungi and bacteria are consuming the exudates, they form a partnership and attract higher level predators like protozoa and nematodes. These micro-organisms will then start to consume bacteria and the fungal tips which are establishing a partnership with the plant right around the rootzone. Bacteria and Fungi produce enzymes that pull off nutrients from the sand, silts and clays crystaline structure in the parent materials 'rocks and pebbles'. Because these nutrients are so much higher in bacteria and fungi than their predators needs, the excess are released in plant available form for the plant to up-take.

Soil structure is created as Fungi and Bacteria start to break down the sand, silts and clays from it's parent material, rocks, stones and pebbles.
Bacteria make glues and Fungi, make string like filaments which hold structures together creating micro and macro aggregates.
These become the feeding grounds for predatory nematodes and protozoa.
Constantly moving in and around these aggregates, they create pore spaces so air can move through them.
This becomes an eco system around the plant where water and nutrient are held.

We know that ploughing is a major problem as it destroys the larger micro-organisms such as 'fungi and protozoa, leaving the soil food web out of balance.
This results in a system breakdown to plants, and protection from pests and diseases is compromised.
The plant will struggle on its own without adequate soil partners unless it has a chemical in-put.

Nitrogen based fertilisers farmers use are made using huge amounts of fossil fuels.
Only around 40% of these in-organic fertilisers gets used by the the crop, the rest are either highly volatised, polluting the atmosphere or it runs off polluting our rivers, lakes and oceans
This causes a major environmental problem.
So restoring the 'soil food web' leads to nutrient rich food for the consumer, increased profits for the farmer and also benefits the environment.