How the soil food web benefits plant life

1
How the soil food web benefits plant life
2
Builds soil structure

• Pore space from burrowing
• Sticky substance from bacteria holds particles
  together
• Mycorrhizal hyphae hold soil conglomerates
  together

3
Disease Suppression

• Population density good organisms take up all
  the niches in the soil so there is no room for
  disease organisms
• Antibiotics some fungi produce antibiotics
  which destroy certain bacteria

4
Improves nitrogen and other nutrient retention

• Soil organisms retain nutrients in their bodies
• Waste given off by organisms contain nutrients
• When organisms die the nutrients are released

5
Mineralizes nutrients

• Organisms can take nutrients that plants cant
  use and change them into a form that plants can
  use, such as nitrogen.
• Chelation some nutrients that are not available
  to plants can be changed by organisms by adding
  an organic molecule, making them available to the
  plant.

6
Decomposition of plant toxins

• Natural plant toxins such as phenols and tannin
  can be detoxified when there is a diversity of
  soil organisms
• Man-made toxins can also be detoxified by a
  diversity of soil organisms.

7
Produces plant growth hormones

• Some plant hormones such as auxin can be produced
  by some soil organisms
• Auxin promotes root growth

8
Improves crop quality

• Not well studied
• Relation between soil biodiversity and nutrient
  quality of food grown in soil
• More proteins, vitamins, anti-oxidants present
  when soil had a diversity of organisms present