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You don't know where your soil is going if you don't know where your soil has been.
What do a dryland farmer, an irrigated hay producer, a cow/calf producer, a landscape designer, and a backyard gardener have in common?
Soil.
You spend a lot of time looking at the health of the above ground crop, whether it’s wheat, alfalfa, pasture, livestock, lawn, trees, or a vegetable garden. You add fertilizers to boost growth and chemicals to control the weed or disease problems. Or maybe you're on a new path and have reduced dependence on synthetic inputs. How much time and effort do you spend looking at what's below the surface? When was the last time you checked to see how your soil microbes were functioning? Soil microbes play a vital role in keeping your plants and animals healthy. Above the ground plants are only as healthy as the below ground organism population. If the beneficial groups aren’t there your above ground crop is paying the price. By re-establishing the right beneficial organisms, i.e. "good bugs", you'll improve your soil health. Which means improved crop production and healthier lawns and gardens.
THE SOIL FOOD WEB DIAGRAM
Soil microorganisms work in a cycle with one another to provide nutrients your plants need. Not having the full complement of the soil food web present, means your plants aren't as healthy as they could be.
FUNCTIONAL GROUPS FOUND IN THE SOIL FOOD WEB
WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE AT 400X MAGNIFICATION
NEMATODES
NEMATODES get a bad wrap in most agricultural publications. And if they're ROOT FEEDING NEMATODES that's justified. Those feed on and destroy the roots of your plants. But did you know there are several functional groups of BENEFICIAL NEMATODES? Proper nutrient cycling underground relies upon the presence of bacterial-feeding nematodes, fungal-feeding nematodes, and predator nematodes (nematode eating nematodes) just to name a few! These guys consume bacteria, fungi and other nematodes to release nutrients to your plants.
FUNGI
BENEFICIAL FUNGUS helps build structure and stores nutrients in the soil. OOMYCETES, are disease-causing fungus that result in mildews and other fungal diseases of plants.
We look for both in our assessment!
PROTOZOA
BENEFICIAL PROTOZOA (amoeba and flagellates) consume bacteria and can promote nutrient cycling. There are some not so pleasant guys (ciliates) in this category that indicate less than desirable conditions, like compaction, in your soil.
ACTINOBACTERIA
ACTINOBACTERIA depending on what your plants requirements are these can be beneficial. Or they may indicate soil conditions aren't right for the crop you want to grow.
BACTERIA
BACTERIA can be good guys or bad guys. Presence of aerobic, oxygen loving, bacteria are healthy signs in your soil. Presence of disease causers should raise some red flags about your soil or composts health.
MICROARTHROPODS
MICROARTHROPODS - We don't actually measure these gusy yet, but they're fun to look at and important in the soil food web cycling process.
PLANT AND SOIL SUCCESSION
Plant Succession Based on Soil Succession
As the soil shifts from rocks and gravel, so do the species able to grow. Bacterially dominated soils grow more weeds, lichens, early successional grasses. Balanced bacteria and fungi are appropriate for many grass species and crops. Fungally dominated soils are more common in old growth forests. The Fungal:Bacteria Ratio you want to aim for depends on what crop or plant you intend to grow.
RESOURCES
OVERVIEW OF SOIL BIOLOGY: Microsoft Word - Soil Biology Primer.doc (envirothonpa.org)
DR. ELAINE INGHAM'S WORK: https://www.soilfoodweb.com/publications/
INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS: https://www.soilfoodweb.com/resources/soil-food-web-approach-videos/?vID=525025259&h=11f6b261ce