Soil Tech Note 5A- What the Bugs Do

What the Bugs Do

BENEFICIAL ORGANISMS

• Nutrient cycling – Organic N to Mineral N.
• Provide food sources for growing plants.
• Breakdown of organic residues in the surface layer.

DISEASE SUPPRESSION

• General – “good” microbe fills an ecological niche instead of a pathogen.
• Specific –  “good” microbes secrete chemicals toxic to pathogens.

DEGRADATION OF POLLUTANTS

• Reduce organic pollutants in soil and water.
• Prime degrader of solvents, pesticides, petroleum products in the soil as well as methane and nitrous oxide.

IMPACTS ON ORGANIC MATTER

• Microbes break down residue material into smaller pieces.
• More smaller pieces hold nutrients more efficiently and help retain water.   
• Microbes form aggregates and increases porosity with secretions and hyphae.
• Microbial burrowing and moving in the soil opens channels for roots.