Well, it is for good reason as it turns out.
Soil is not just dirt. Soil is distinguished from dirt through its bustling population of microbial wunderkind.
These tiny titans of the tilth are the unsung heroes of agriculture, holding the key to boosting our farm’s carrying capacity, and plant and animal health.
More microbes means healthier, more dynamic soils providing more nutrients for our plants, which, in turn, means we grow more pasture of higher quality.
But here’s the kicker: we really have no clue which microbes we should be rooting for. The microbial stars of one farm or field might be the wallflowers in another.
It’s a bit like a soil-based game of musical chairs, where the most active microbes shift and change, adapting to their environment as conditions dictate. Just don’t let them see the light of day — air is their kryptonite.
Japanese soil scientist Dr Higa (of Bokashi fame) found a lush patch on his lawn where he dumped his microbial library in a fit of frustration and had his epiphany — it’s not about one microbe but rather about the whole gang working together. A consortium in fact, performing like a finely tuned orchestra.
It might be easier to imagine a superhero team where each microbe has a specific role, like the Avengers of the agricultural underground.
We need the full buffet of microbes to really get the underground party started.
Here’s a shortlist of the essential players we should be inviting to our microbial shindig:
- Bacteria: These little champs fix nitrogen, decompose organic matter, make water, and even help seed clouds for rain. Some even function much like our dairy cows, but way smaller, cyclically shuttling nutrients from soil to the plant.
- Fungi: The decomposers extraordinaire! They break down tough components and help plants absorb nutrients.
- Yeasts: Also decomposers, and plant feeders, and vital to devouring any oxygen that finds it way into the rhizosphere.
- Actinomycetes: Think of these as the soil’s medical team, producing antibiotics and delivering nutrients like seasoned couriers.
- Archaea: These extremophiles thrive in tough conditions and help with nitrogen cycling. The also manage excess H ions producing methane.
- Protozoa: The little predators of the soil world, regulating bacterial populations and keeping things in check.
- Nematodes: The microbial ninjas, controlling populations of microbes and recycling their nutrients like pros.
- Mycorrhizal fungi: These are the ultimate team players, forming networks with plant roots and transporting nutrients and water over vast areas. They’re crucial for soil and plant nutrition, but they don’t take kindly to cultivation.
So, the next time you’re out in the paddock, cultivating or spreading fertiliser, think of this: if you switched your focus down a level — from the plant to the soil’s microbial milieu — and attended their simple needs, you wouldn’t need the cultivation or the fertiliser because a healthy mix of these microbial marvels would be doing all the heavy lifting for you.
This mind-blowing fact might help put things in perspective — the carrying capacity of the soil (kg livestock/ha) is matched by the microbial mass within the soil.
If you would like to know more, drop us a line at: info@4sight.bio
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