A Hidden HabitatSoil -

By Winfried Scheewe, 14 October 2010

Who lives there?

What is going on there?

What farmers are doing?

What are the effects?

Why hidden?

Who lives there? 1

Tardigradeor Water Bear

Who lives there? 2

Nematodes

Who lives there? 3

Actinomycetes

Fungi

Who lives there? 4

Protozoa

Algae

100 Insects and mites

110 Worms

250 Springtails

25,000 Nematodes

7,500,000 Protozoa

12,500,000 Algae

100,000,000 Fungi

125,000,000 Bacteria

One handful of fertile soil can contain :

What is going on in the soil?

There are many kinds of soil animals and micro-organisms

What are their roles?

Functions of soil organisms

Decomposing organic stuff

Maintaining a sponge like structure

Providing nutrients to plants

Decomposing organic stuff

Soil organisms help to bind soil particles together, give it a sponge like structure.

Fixing Nitro-gen

Mycorrhizae

Providing nutrients to plants

Effects of farmers’ practices on the soil organisms

Most pesticides are harmful to soil organisms

Application of fertilizers

Effects of farmers’ practices

Soil compaction

Burning of crop residues

Bare soil after burning the stubbles

Differences farmers can make

Returning rice straw

Example: Farm of Isidro Prado

After 15 years of using fertilizers, Zinc deficiency became a problem, yield declined by 60 to 70%

Straw application: within two years, yield back to normal levelsof over 4.5 t/ha(40 sacks from 0.38 ha)

Differences farmers can make

Soil cover

SOIL EROSIONCORN WITH A COVER CROP

Preventing soil erosion with hedgerows and mulch

Thank you !