Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Humus - Understanding the Soil Processes

livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Humus - Understanding the Soil Processes
  • Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 12:38:55 -0600


Thanks, I had a couple doubts about points made in Wikipedia, esp without a
credible source named up front. On the subject of the microbes, I recall Sir
Albert decades ago wrote a great deal about Miccorhizae, which is fungal
isn't it? What's it's role in humus forming? Or is it more important in
feeding nutrients directly to roots?

paul, tradingpost@riseup.net
---------------

The outstanding scientific discovery of the twentieth century is not
television, or radio, but rather the complexity of the land organism. Only
those who know the most about it can appreciate how little we know about it.
- Aldo Leopold in Round River, 1933
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********

On 5/19/2006 at 1:27 PM Soilsecrets@aol.com wrote:

>While Wikipedia is a fun site to surf and look up stuff, it is not a
>solid
>source of information as it can be edited easily by anyone.
>
>Humus is made by an aerobic Humification process using only bacteria
>(never
>fungi directly*) which depend on oxygen and the proper calories and
>precursors to manufacture the organic acids that are arranged in a
>conglomeration of
>molecules we call humus. The final material is not static nor stable and
>in
>fact continues to break down in time with a half life of about 50 years.
>Unless more oxygen and nitrogen are introduced into the equation, in
>which case
>it breaks down faster.
>
>* Fungi being the goats of the soil will decompose more difficult
>materials
>such as the lignins of wood, resulting in those calories becoming useful
>to
>bacteria. So indirectly fungi are involved in the process of
>Humification.
>
>Michael Martin Melendrez Ph.D.
>Soil Secrets LLC






Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page