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Index >> Microbes and Lithosphere>> Relationship between Microbes and Land

Relationship between Microbes and Land

	Relationship Between Microbes and Land The earth's crust consists of a wide variety of minerals which have been produced during several geological periods. Nearly 2000 minerals have been detected in the earth's crust but only a few constitute soil-forming rocks. These rocks were disintegrated to form the minerals which were decomposed to form the soil. The nature of the soil basically depends upon the nature of minerals present in them. Rocks are identified on the basis of minerals they contain. So the minerals should be studied before studying the soil forming rocks.
A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic material that has fairly definite internal structure, composition and properties. Soil forming minerals have been broadly grouped as primary and secondary minerals. Primary minerals originate in the parent rock. Some of them remain unchanged during the course of soil formation. They are usually present in the sand fraction. Secondary minerals have formed by the alteration and decomposition of primary minerals. They are also called clay minerals because they are the chief constituents of clay.
In the earlier stages of soil development, soils were dominated by characteristics which they inherited from the parent material. They are dominated by the acquired characters at the later stages of soil development. For example, soils which were developed from the basic parent material were rich in basic elements and alkaline in reaction during the earlier stages of soil development. Later on these basic elements were gradually washed down by high rainfall and the soils ultimately became acidic at the later stages of their development. The fertility of soil depends not only on its chemical composition, but also on the qualitative and quantitative nature of microorganisms inhabiting it. The microbes inhabiting soil can be classified into bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, algae and protozoa and the branch of science dealing with these microbes and their activities in soil is called soil microbiology. Unlike soil science whose origin can be traced back to Roman and Aryan times, soil microbiology emerged as a distinct branch of soil science only in 1838.
Soil is inhabited by diverse groups of living organisms which include both macro- and micro- fauna and flora. The total number of living organisms in soil may be as much as billions per gm of soil and their live weight may go up to five tons per acre furrow slice of soil. Soil organisms depend mainly upon the climate and the resultant vegetation. Soil flora and fauna also depend upon soil factors like temperature, moisture-air relationships, soil reaction and humus and nutrient content of soils. Microflora are responsible for about 80% of the total soil metabolism. It decomposes organic residues to form the humus.
	Lithosphere habitats occur as land masses consisting of rocks and soil. Soil is capable of acting as a habitat for biological organisms. Soil is a very complex environment composed of three main phases: solid, liquid and gases. Soil is formed by the physical, chemical and biological weathering of rocks to small particles. Rocks are of three types: 1. Igneous rocks formed by the solidification of molten lava. 2. Sedimentary rocks formed by the deposition and consolidation of weathered products of other rocks. 3. Metamorphic rocks formed by changes in form of other rocks.

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