Soil factors such as organic matter content, soil structure, nutrient content, nutrient
cycling, nutrient availability, and water holding capacity are all influenced by, or
dependent upon, soil microorganisms. These microbes can be classified into major
groups such as microarthropods, nematodes, protozoa, fungi, algae and bacteria, and
all of these groups can be further subdivided based on genetic relationships, specific
functions or habitats in which they survive. Important soil microbial functions such as
organic matter breakdown and nitrogen fixation are fairly well understood, but this is
only a small fraction of microbial capabilities.
What is known about soil microbiology fills many volumes of textbooks, but remains
far exceeded by what is unknown. As an example, soil testing using genetic analysis
methods has estimated that a single teaspoon of soil may contain as many as 10,000
distinct species of bacteria. Of these only about 1% or less can be cultured, and even
fewer of these are known to have specific soil functions. For more information about
the various functional groups of soil microorganisms see the website references listed
below.
A fascinating and relatively new area of soil microbiology is the study of how these
microscopic life forms communicate and interact. Imagine any major city in the world
being reduced to something that would rest in the middle of a teaspoon. All the
different activities of the people in that city would be analogous to what the community
of bacteria and other microorganisms perform in a teaspoon of soil. Thus interactions
of microorganisms in the soil is equal to, if not more complex, than the population of a
large city.
On a microscopic scale, the highways and roads in the soil are thin films of water on
and between soil particles. These water films not only enable the microbes to get to
their food source, but they can also carry food to the organisms. The nutrient sources
for soil organisms are as broad and diverse as the organism community itself. Soil microorganisms proliferate when their “food of choice” is available and conditions are
just right. They must also develop survival mechanisms (or perish) when food is
scarce. Many soil microbes are a food for other organisms and their populations are
kept in check by these predators.
Soil microbes are able to survive by communication with their environment on a
bio-chemical basis. For bacteria, nutrients are absorbed through their cell walls. Some
of these nutrients are readily available in water films; other nutrients must be obtained
by the excretion of enzymes or other compounds in order to release the needed nutrients
from organic or mineral particles. Nutrient availability signals the bacteria to multiply;
but they are also receptive to biochemical signals indicating that the food reserves are
limited or that conditions are developing which indicate the need for protective survival strategies. Through such mechanisms of communication and adaptation, the community
or organisms work effectively and collectively to cycle nutrients within the soil.
At AMS, our production process taps into this complex and interactive microbial
community. From this large “city” of microorganisms, we extract microbes with many
different capabilities. And with them come many of the important biochemical tools with
which they communicate and function in a soil environment. This production process is
what makes AMS products different from almost all other microbial products being sold
today.
