How the soil food web benefits plant life

1. How the soil food web benefits plant life

2. Builds soil structure • Pore space from burrowing • Sticky substance from bacteria holds particles together • Mycorrhizal hyphae hold soil conglomerates together

3. Disease Suppression • Population density – “good” organisms take up all the niches in the soil so there is no room for disease organisms • Antibiotics – some fungi produce antibiotics which destroy certain bacteria

4. Improves nitrogen and other nutrient retention • Soil organisms retain nutrients in their bodies • Waste given off by organisms contain nutrients • When organisms die the nutrients are released

5. Mineralizes nutrients • Organisms can take nutrients that plants can’t use and change them into a form that plants can use, such as nitrogen. • Chelation – some nutrients that are not available to plants can be changed by organisms by adding an organic molecule, making them available to the plant.

6. Decomposition of plant toxins • Natural plant toxins such as phenols and tannin can be detoxified when there is a diversity of soil organisms • Man-made toxins can also be detoxified by a diversity of soil organisms.

7. Produces plant growth hormones • Some plant hormones such as auxin can be produced by some soil organisms • Auxin promotes root growth

8. Improves crop quality • Not well studied • Relation between soil biodiversity and nutrient quality of food grown in soil • More proteins, vitamins, anti-oxidants present when soil had a diversity of organisms present