This Week's Feature
Soil microbial biomass is an important parameter linking the plants to soil. It comprises about 2-3% of the total organic carbon.
Microbial biomass is the living component of soil organic matter. Some of the responsibilities include energy and nutrient cycling and the regulation of organic matter transformation.
3 Critical Functions of Microbial Biomass:
▪ A labile source of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S)
▪ An immediate sink of C, N, P and S
▪ An agent of nutrient transformation and pesticide degradation.
| ▪ | A labile source of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S) |
| ▪ | An immediate sink of C, N, P and S |
| ▪ | An agent of nutrient transformation and pesticide degradation. |
The importance of microbial biomass in soil fertility include: a source of nutrients, a sink of nutrients, an indicator of heavy metals and pesticides pollution and an indicator of soil quality.
With increasing demand to monitor soil quality and protection of the environment, improved and rapid techniques will be required to measure soil microbial biomass. Many assessment tools currently on the market are tedious, time consuming and unreliable. microBIOMETER®, a rapid, on-site soil test for microbial biomass, would be the ideal tool to utilize for this purpose. The test is performed on living soil with results available in about 20 minutes.
Source: Importance of Microbial Biomass in Soil Fertility
