permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>]

Other mailing lists of interest:

Permaculture Information Web
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/piw
(analog of soil food web, mimicry of a sort). This forum could host 
collaborative development of a permaculture knowledgebase, database or 
permaculture encyclopedia or just contain many useful and interesting 
posts to refer to later on.

Soil Ecology
From TheFreeDictionary:
Soil Ecology
"The study of the interactions among soil organisms, and between biotic 
and abiotic aspects of the soil environment. Soil is made up of a 
multitude of physical, chemical, and biological entities, with many 
interactions occurring among them. Soil is a variable mixture of broken 
and weathered minerals and decaying organic matter. Together with the 
proper amounts of air and water, it supplies, in part, sustenance for 
plants as well as mechanical support."
"Abiotic and biotic factors lead to certain chemical changes in the top 
few decimeters (8–10 in.) of soil. The work of the soil ecologist is 
made easier by the fact that the surface 10–15 cm (4–6 in.) of the A 
horizon has the majority of plant roots, microorganisms, and fauna. A 
majority of the biological-chemical activities occur in this surface layer."
"The biological aspects of soil range from major organic inputs, 
decomposition by primary decomposers (bacteria, fungi, and 
actinomycetes), and interactions between microorganisms and fauna 
(secondary decomposers) which feed on them. The detritus decomposition 
pathway occurs on or within the soil after plant materials (litter, 
roots, sloughed cells, and soluble compounds) become available through 
death or senescence. Plant products are used by microorganisms (primary 
decomposers). These are eaten by the fauna which thus affect flows of 
nutrients, particularly nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. The 
immobilization of nutrients into plants or microorganisms and their 
subsequent mineralization are critical pathways. The labile inorganic 
pool is the principal one that permits subsequent microorganism and 
plant existence. Scarcity of some nutrient often limits production. Most 
importantly, it is the rates of flux into and out of these labile 
inorganic pools which enable ecosystems to successfully function. See 
Ecology, Ecosystem, Guild, Soil, Systems ecology."
McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Bioscience. © 2002 by The 
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
<>
Fundamental categories of the soil's inhabitants:
Bacteria
Fungi
Algae
Protozoa
Nematodes
Microarthropods
Enchytraeids
Earthworms
Ants, termites, spiders, scarab beetles
Mollusks
Rodents, snakes, voles, amphibians
Armadillos.