[Terrapreta] More on soil life

[Michael Bailes]

>
> I just came across this article which relates a bit to my last post on
> soil micro-organisms
>
> Professor Young said: "There are rich communities of microbes growing in
> or around the roots of all plants growing in normal soil. Most do no harm to
> the plant, and some are very beneficial to it. We looked at two sorts of
> microbe: bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi."
>
> The researchers found a high diversity of both types of microbe inside the
> roots of grass or clover plants growing in a pasture, but the 'heavy' label
> revealed that some of these were growing much more actively than others.
>
> Professor Young added: "It is these active organisms that are important
> because they are turning sugar back into carbon dioxide, which is released
> into the atmosphere. We were astonished at the wide variety of active
> bacteria that we discovered. Many of them had not been seen in plant roots
> before, and we have no idea how they may affect plant growth."
> The role of mycorrhizal fungi is better known. They are particularly
> important in carbon cycling, because they pump the carbon compounds out of
> the root into a massive network of fine fungal filaments in the soil, where
> it becomes available to other microbes and also to larger soil organisms
> like worms, mites and insects.
>
>
> More here
> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071018123523.htm
>

-- 
Michael the Archangel

"You can fix all the world's problems in a garden. . . .
Most people don't know that"
FROM
http://www.blog.thesietch.org/wp-content/permaculture.swf
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