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  • From: "Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>
  • To: gardenwriters-on-gardening <gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [gwl-g] soil pH
  • Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2004 07:40:11 -0700

Title: Re: [gwl-g] soil pH
NO ATTACHMENTS ON LIST!!!
Open it and put it in a letter, or send it off list.  It will be scrubbed by the archive software, and not everyone can open it.  Not to mention that some recipients' anti-virus software will stop the post for having an attachment.
-Lon Rombough


I've attached an article from HortResources Newsletter that may be helpful. Perhaps you would like to contact the author to ask your questions.


On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 09:39:30 -0400 "Jeff Ball" <jeffball@starband.net> writes:
Making some progress; thanks Lon and northern Jeff,

Lon, while I will check the literature, isn¹t it fair to assume if fungi can do something to the soil in the forest, they can do the same thing in the home landscape if the conditions and resources were the same?

Jeff, you talk about the nutrient exchange in some cases taking the pH up.  Isn¹t much of that nutrient exchange performed by mycorrhizal fungi?  Therefore, if the root zone has a healthy population of root fungi, the plant is in a better position to influence the pH in its root zone than a plant with a small or inadequate population of root fungi?  

Also Jeff ­ if some exchanges move the pH up, are there exchanges that move the pH down? as in Lon¹ example of the forest fungi making alkaline soil more acidic?



I feel that there is a very important idea coming out of this discussion.  



Southern Jeff



-----Original Message-----
From: gwl-g-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:gwl-g-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Lon J. Rombough
Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2004 6:43 PM
To: gardenwriters-on-gardening
Subject: Re: [gwl-g] soil pH




Most of the work I found in which soil pH was affected by mycorrhizal fungi was in forestry research.  Try your searches with Mycorrhizal fungi and forestry in the search fields.  One report showed that the fungi created areas of acidity in mineral soils that would otherwise have been alkaline.  They also affected permeability, holding the moisture on the surface so it could be used, instead of letting it percolate deep into the soil.
-Lon Rombough





To all of you experts on the soil food web:

Over the years I have heard several anecdotal stories about plants that
were planted in soil with an improper pH and when given an annual
application of compost, the plant was able to change the pH within its
root zone without affecting the pH outside of its root zone.  e.g.
Rhododendron planted in pH of 8.0 survives with annual application of
compost and after many years, the pH within the root zone is 5.5 while
outside the root zone is still 8.0.  

I have a feeling that these stories are true, however I believe that the
actual work to change the pH of the soil within the root zone was
accomplished by some type of soil bacteria or maybe mycorrhizal fungi,
or maybe both. I also suspect that while compost might contribute to
this phenomena, it would seem logical that adding organic material over
time into the soil via mulch and earthworms might also create the proper
environment for this mysterious change in pH within the plant's root
zone to occur.  

Does anyone have data to support this concept or to destroy it?  I have
not been able to ask Google the right question.  

Jeff Ball  


Fran Gustman,  fgustman@juno.com
Boston, MA, Zone 6
Editor, HortResources Newsletter, www.hortresources.org
Editor, Holly Society Journal, www.hollysocam.org

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  • Re: [gwl-g] soil pH, fran gustman, 04/15/2004
    • Re: [gwl-g] soil pH, Lon J. Rombough, 04/15/2004

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