The Soil Food Web
“Soil provides the physical substratum for virtually all human activities, like agriculture, buildings, transport; it provides resources for industrial use and waste management; and it is central in elemental cycles, without which agriculture would not be possible.”
— Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning in Soil; Brussard, Lijbert
What is the soil food web?
The soil food web is all of the life and substances that exist in and on the soil and support each other. The concept of the soil food web was popularized by Dr. Elaine R. Ingham.
The organic matter in your soil is classified into three main groupings: living organisms, new organic materials, and humus.
Living organisms include living roots, arthropods, earthworms, bacteria, nematodes, fungi, and protozoa.
Organic matter comes from plants, animals, and other organic substances that reach the soil and begin to decay.
Humus is what remains after the organic substances are transformed.
The following is a list of the most significant living organisms in your soil:
Plants
Plants create sugars that are consumed by bacteria and other organisms in the soil.
Bacteria
Soil is loaded with bacteria that deliver nitrogen to plants. Bacteria also eat humus and excrete new types of organic content that plants and other organisms can easily consume.
Earthworms
Earthworms mix soil, create pores for better airflow, and excrete substances that feed plants and other organisms.
Fungi
Similar to bacteria, fungi digest humus and excrete organic content that supports other life in the soil. One particular type of fungi, mycorrhizae, capture nutrients and water near the plant roots.
Arthropods
Arthropods include mites, sow bugs, spiders, springtails, and centipedes. They consume debris and improve access to nitrogen and nutrients for plants and other soil life.
Nematodes
Nematodes are tiny, wormlike organisms that consume other microorganisms and pass nutrients to plants through their excrement. Some nematodes help your soil and plants, while others destroy them. The same holds true for bacteria and fungi. It is vital to maintain a healthy balance of beneficial nematodes in your soil.
Protozoa
Protozoa are single-celled organisms in your soil that eat harmful bacteria. Their manure brings nitrogen to plants.
As you can see, most of the organisms in the soil deliver nutrients to the plants in their own unique ways. When these organisms are in abundance, they fertilize your plants naturally.
What does the soil food web do?
The soil food web is crucial to healthy plant life. It performs the following functions:
Cycle nutrients
The organisms excrete nutrient-rich substances and pass them to plant roots.
Fix nutrients
The microorganisms pull nitrogen from the air and convert it into a form that plants can digest.
Decompose organic matter
Many soil organisms shred organic material and disperse them in a way that provides easier access for plant roots.
Retain nutrients
The soil food web helps keep nutrients in the soil, which would otherwise be flushed out by rain.
Fight off diseases
Healthy and living soil has a wide variety of life forms that can more easily fight against diseases.
Enhance bioturbation
Organisms such as ants, earthworms, termites and plant roots create tunnels in the soil that make it possible for air, gases, and water to flow through the soil.
Decompose toxins
Bacteria can break down pesticides and other pollutants in soil.
What is the cost of damaging the soil food web?
Bad land use practices turn your living soil into lifeless dirt. The less life in your soil, the less it is capable of sustaining healthy plantlife, moderating water flow, retaining and producing nutrients, and cleaning the water and air.
When we plough the ground or saturate the soil with harmful chemicals, the life in the soil food web collapses and the entire system ceases to function properly. Pathogens, pests, and weeds then strike at the opportunity to fill the soil.
It takes many years to build healthy soil but an incredibly short time to destroy it. That’s why your soil needs protection and nurturing through eco-friendly products and practices.
How can I strengthen the soil food web in my soil?
The more you help your soil, the healthier your plants will be. Here are some ways you can boost your soil:
Reduce usage of pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides.
These chemicals sterilize the soil, killing off much of the food web.
Limit your usage of nitrate salt fertilizers
Fertilizers drive earthworms away.
Introduce more organic matter to the soil.
Organic matter stimulates the organisms in the food web and speed up natural processes.
Hire a company that uses eco-friendly products and practices.
An eco-friendly program costs more than a traditional program in the short run, but the long-term benefits are worth the cost. To put it simply, your plants will have fewer problems and requires less attention and chemicals.
