What is the importance of soil biota?
Why are soil biota important? Through their interactions in the soil food web, the activities of soil biota link soil with the plants and animals above ground. Soil organisms perform essential functions that allow soil to resist degradation and provide benefits to all living things.
Why is soil biodiversity so important?
These organisms improve the entry and storage of water, resistance to erosion, plant nutrition, and break down of organic matter. A wide variety of organisms provides checks and balances to the soil food web through population control, mobility, and survival from season to season.
Is soil a good representation of ecosystems and biodiversity?
Soil is considered to be among the most biologically rich habitats on Earth, with greater biodiversity per unit area than that observed aboveground, and is a center for biological interaction (1, 2).
How does soil affect biodiversity?
Soil is by far the most biologically diverse material on Earth. Soil contains a large variety of organisms which interact and contribute to many global cycles, including the carbon and nitrogen cycles. Soil provides vital habitats for micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi, as well as insects and other organisms.
How does soil texture influence microbially mediated soil processes?
Distinct soil microenvironments caused by different soil textures can induce highly variable microbial activity, function, and composition associated with the availability of nutrients and water controlled by the soil structure (Bach et al., 2010) .
How does biodiversity help in soil formation?
Soil protection by maintenance of biological diversity can preserve the productive capacity of the soil, prevent landslides, safeguard coastlines and riverbanks, and prevent the degradation of coral reefs and coastal fisheries by siltation. Trees and other vegetation also assist in soil formation.
How would the soil biota be affected by using traditional chemical pesticides?
Altering the detritus food web through the use of broad-spectrum pesticides reduces biological diversity and therefore alters the balance or equilibrium of the ecosystem. This could lead to pest resurgence through the absence of natural predators (Wildermuth et al. 1997).
How topography affect soil formation?
Topography – Slope and aspect affect the moisture and temperature of soil. Steep slopes facing the sun are warmer. Steep soils may be eroded and lose their topsoil as they form. Thus, they may be thinner than the more nearly level soils that receive deposits from areas upslope.