Roles of soil biota and biodiversity in soil environment – A concise communication

Year 2016, Volume: 5 Issue: 4, 255 - 265, 09.09.2016

Suleiman Usman Yakubu Muhammad Alhaji Chiroman

https://doi.org/10.18393/ejss.2016.4.255-265

Cited By: 4

Abstract

Soil biota (the living organisms in soil) plays an important role in soil development and soil formation. They are the most important component of soil organic matter decomposition and behave efficiently in the development and formation of soil structure and soil aggregate. Their biodiversity provides many functional services to soil and soil components. They help in dissolving verities of plant and animal materials, which could left as decayed organic matter at the surface soil. Understanding the vital role of soil organisms would undoubtedly helps to increase food production and reduces poverty, hunger and malnutrition. Soil biota and biodiversity research in sub-Saharan Africa would play an important role in sustaining food security, environmental health, water quality and forest regeneration. This paper, briefly highlighted some of the biological functions of soil biota and suggests that proper understandings of biota and their biodiversity in soil environment would provide ways to get better understanding of soil health, soil function, soil quality and soil fertility under sustainable soil management activities in agricultural production. 

Keywords

Soil biota, biodiversity, soil environment

References

• Alfred, R. C. Jr., 2001. Soil micro-organisms In: Soil sediment and water: The magazine of environmental assessment and remediation. The Association of Environmental Health and Science (AEHS): Amherst, USA.
• Allen, J.J., 1990. Termites, soil fertility and carbon cycling in dry tropical Africa: A hypothesis. Journal of Tropical Ecology 6 (3): 291-305.
• Bai, Z.G., Dent, D.L., Olsson, L., Schaepman, M.E., 2008. Proxy global assessment of land degradation. Soil Use Management 24: 223 – 234.
• Bardgett, R.D., 2005. The biology of soil: A community and ecosystem approach. Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York. 242 p.
• Barrios, E., 2007. Soil biota, ecosystem services and land productivity. Ecological Economics 64(2): 269–285.
• Brussaard, L., 2012. Ecosystem services provided by the soil biota. In: Soil ecology and ecosystem services. Wall, D.H., Bardgett, R.D., Behan-Pelletier, V., Herrick, J.E., Jones, T.H., Ritz, K., Six, J., Strong, D.R., van der Putten, W.H. (Eds). Oxford University Press. pp.45-58.
• Brussaard, L., Caron, P., Campbell, B., Lipper, L., Mainka, S., Rabbinge, R., Babin, D., Pulleman, M., 2010. Reconciling biodiversity conservation and food security: scientific challenges for a new agriculture. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 2(1-2): 34–42.
• Brussaard, L., de Ruiter, P.C., Brown, G.G., 2007. Soil biodiversity for agricultural sustainability. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 121(3): 233–44.
• Castro-Huerta, R.A., Falco, L.B., Sandler, R.V., Coviella, C.E., 2015. Differential contribution of soil biota groups to plant litter decomposition as mediated by soil use. PeerJ 3:e826.
• Coleman, D. C., 2001. Soil biota, soil systems, and processes. In: Encyclopaedia of Biodiversity. Levin, S.A. (Ed).Vol. 5, Academic Press. pp.305-214.
• Coleman, D. C., 2008. From peds to paradoxes: Linkages between soil biota and their influences on ecological processes. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 40(2): 271-289.
• Coleman, D.C., Ingham, R.E., McClellan, J.E., Trofymow, J.A., 1984. Soil nutrient transformations in the rhizosphere via animal-microbial interactions. In: Invertebrate Microbial Interactions. Anderson, J.M., Rayner, A.D.M., Walton, D.C.M. (Eds.). Cambridge University Press, pp. 35-58.
• Coleman, D.C., Reid, C.P.P., Cole, C.V., 1983. Biological strategies of nutrient cycling in soil systems. Advances in Ecological Research 13: 1-55.
• Corliss, J.O., Esser, S.C., 1974. Comments on the role of the cyst in the life cycle and survival of free-living protozoa. Transactions of the American Microscopial Society 93(4): 578-593.
• Culman, S.W., Young-Mathews, A., Hollander, A.D., Ferris, H., Sánchez-Moreno, S., O’Geen, A.T., Jackson, L.E., 2010. Biodiversity is associated with indicators of soil ecosystem functions over a landscape gradient of agricultural intensification. Landscape Ecology 25(9): 1333–1348.
• Darbyshire, J. F., 1994. Soil Protozoa. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK. 209 pp.
• de Bello, F., Lavorel, S., Díaz, S., Harrington, R., Cornelissen, J.H.C., Bardgett R,D., Berg, M.P., Cipriotti, P., Feld, C.K., Hering, D., da Silva, P.M., Potts, S.G., Sandin, L., Sousa, J.P., Storkey, J., Wardle, D.A., Harrison, P.A., 2010. Towards an assessment of multiple ecosystem processes and services via functional traits. Biodiversity and Conservation 19(10): 2873-2893.
• de Vries, F.T., Hoffland, E., van Eekeren, N., Brussaard, L., Bloem, J., 2006. Fungal/bacterial ratios in grasslands with contrasting nitrogen management. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 38(8): 2092–2103.
• Denef, K., Six, J., Bossuyt, H., Frey, S.D., Elliott, E.T., Merckx, R., Paustian, K., 2001. Influence of dry–wet cycles on the interrelationship between aggregate, particulate organic matter, and microbial community dynamics. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 33(12-13): 1599-1611.
• Domínguez, A., Bedano, J.C., Becker, A.R., Arolfo, R.V., 2014. Organic farming fosters agroecosystem functioning in Argentinian temperate soils: Evidence from litter decomposition and soil fauna. Applied Soil Ecology 83:170–176.
• Edwards, C. A. Chapter 6: The Living Soil: Earthworm In: Soil Biology Primer. Tungel, A., Lewandowski, A. Happe-vonArb, D. (Eds.) 2000. Soil and Water Conservation Society & NRCS Soil Quality Institute, Ames, IA., USA.
• Available at: www.statlab.iastate.edu/survey/SQI/soil_biology_primer.htm [Access date: 05.12.2015]
• Eskelinen, A., Stark, S., Männistö, M., 2009. Links between plant community composition, soil organic matter quality and microbial communities in contrasting tundra habitats. Oecologia 161(1): 113–123.
• Fageria, N.K., Baligar, V.C., Clark, R.B., 2002. Micronutrients in Crop Production. Advances in Agronomy 7: 185-268.
• FAO, 2005. The importance of soil organic matter: key to drought-resistant soil and sustained food production. FAO Soils Bulletin, No. 80. Food and Agricultural Organization of United Nation, Rome, Italy. pp.11-47
• FAO, 2007. Soil Biota and Biodiversity: the “Root” of Sustainable Agriculture. Food and Agricultural Organization of United Nation, Rome, Italy. pp.1-4
• Ingham, E. R., 2000. Chapter 3: Bacteria. In: Soil Biology Primer. Tungel, A., Lewandowski, A. HappevonArb, D. (Eds.). Soil and Water Conservation Society & NRCS Soil Quality Institute, Ames, IA., USA.
• Available at: www.statlab.iastate.edu/survey/SQI/soil_biology_primer.htm [Access date: 05.12.2015]
• Jenney, H., 2009. Factors of soil formation: A system of quantitative pedology. Dover Publications, New York, USA. 320p.
• Jongmans, A.G., Pulleman, M.M., Balabane, M., van Oort, F., Marinissen, J.C.Y., 2003. Soil structure and characteristics of organic matter in two orchards differing in earthworm activity. Applied Soil Ecology 24(3): 219 – 232.
• Jürgens, N., Schmiedel, U., Haarmeyer, D.H., Dengler, D., Finckh, M., Goetze, D., Gröngröft, A., Hahn, K., Koulibaly, A., Luther-Mosebach, J., Muche, G., Oldeland, J., Petersen, A., Porembski, S., Rutherford, M.C., Schmidt, M., Sinsin, B., Strohbach, B.J., Thiombiano, A., Wittig, R., Zizka, G., 2012. The BIOTA Biodiversity Observatories in Africa—a staandardized framework for large-scale environmental monitoring. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 184(2): 655-678.
• Kibblewhite, M.G., Ritz, K., Swift, M.J., 2008. Soil health in agricultural systems. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 363: 685–701.
• Kramer, C., Gleixner, G., 2008. Soil organic matter in soil depth profiles: Distinct carbon preferences of microbial groups during carbon transformation. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 40(2): 425-433.
• Li X., Yin X., Wang Z., Fan W., 2014. Interaction between decomposing litter and soil fauna of the Betula ermanii forest floor of the Changbai Mountains, China. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 44(12): 1507–1514.
• Loreau, M., 2010. Linking biodiversity and ecosystems: Towards a unifying ecological theory. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 365: 49–60.
• Lubbers, I.M., Brussaard, L., Otten, W., Van Groenigen, J.W., 2011. Earthworm-induced N mineralization in fertilized grassland increases both N2O emission and crop-N uptake. European Journal of Soil Science 62(1): 152 – 161.
• Lupwayi, N.Z., Rice, W.A., Clayton, G.W., 1998. Soil microbial diversity and community structure under wheat as influenced by tillage and crop rotations. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 30(13): 1733-1741.
• Miyazawa, K., Tsuji, H., Yamagata, M, Nakano, H., Nakamoto, T., 2000. The effect of cropping systems and fallow managements on microarthropod populations. Plant Production Science 5(3): 257-265.
• Pankhurst, C.E., Doube, B.M., Gupta, V.V.S.R., 1997. Biological indicators of soil health. CAB International, New York, USA. 451 p.
• Petchey, O. L., Gaston, K. J., 2006. Functional diversity: back to basics and looking forward. Ecology Letters 9(6): 741–758.
• Riesenfeld, C. S., Schloss, P. D., Handelsman, J., 2004. Metagenomics: genomic analysis of microbial communities. Annual Review of Genetics 38: 525-552.
• Rillig, M.C., Mummey, D.L., 2006. Mycorrhizas and soil structure. New Phytologist 171(1): 41-53.
• Ritz, K., 2006. Fungal roles in transport processes in soils. In: Fungi in biogeochemical cycles Gadd, G.M.(Ed.). Cambridge University Press, UK. pp. 51-73.
• Ritz, K., Harris, J., Murray, P., 2010. The role of soil biota in soil fertility and quality, and approaches to influencing soil communities to enhance delivery of these functions. Defra project code: SP1601: Sub-Project A of Defra Project SP1601: Soil Functions, Quality and Degradation – Studies in Support of the Implementation of Soil Policy. Cranfield University and Rothamsted Research, UK, 34 pp.
• Ritz, K., McHugh, M., Harris, J.A., 2004. Biological diversity and function in soils: contemporary perspectives and implications in relation to the formulation of effective indicators. In: Agricultural soil erosion and soil biodiversity: Developing ındicators for policy analyses. Francaviglia, R. (Ed.), OECD, Paris, France. pp. 563-572.
• Six, J., Bossuyt, H., Degryze, S., Denef, K., 2004. A history of research on the link between (micro) aggregates, soil biota, and soil organic matter dynamics. Soil and Tillage Research 79(1): 7–31.
• Smith, R. G., McSwiney, C. P., Grandy, A. S., Suwanwaree, P., Snider, R. M., Robertson, G. P., 2008. Diversity and abundance of earthworms across an agricultural land-use intensity gradient. Soil Tillage Research 100(1-2): 83-88.
• Song X., Song Y., Sun T., Zhang W., Zhou Q., 2004. Bio-indicating function of soil protozoa to environmental pollution. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology 15(10): 1979-1982. [in Chinese].
• Swift, M.J., Heal, O.W., Anderson, J.M., 1979. Decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles, USA. 372p.
• Tisdall, J.M., Oades, J.M., 1982. Organic matter and water stable aggregates in soils. Journal of Soil Science 33(2): 141–163.
• UNEP, 1995. Global biodiversity assessment. United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Cambridge University Press, UK. 17p.
• UNEP, 2006. Global Environment Outlook 3: Land degradation – Africa.
• Available at: http://www.grida.no/geo/geo3/english/149.htm [Access date: 25.08.2006]
• Usman, S., 2013. Understanding soils: Environment and properties under agricultural conditions. Publish America, Baltimore, USA. 151p.
• Wall, D.H., Adams, G., Parsons, A.N., 2001. Soil Biodiversity. In: Global biodiversity in a changing environment: Scenarios for the 21st century. Chapin III, F.S., Sala, O.E., Huber-Sannwald, E. (Eds.), Springer-Verlag, New York, USA. pp. 47–82.
• Wang, M.C, Liu, Y.H., Wang, Q., Gong, M., Hua, X.M., Pang, Y.J., Hu, S., Yang, Y.H., 2008. Impacts of methamidophos on the biochemical, catabolic and genetic characteristics of soil microbial communities. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 40(3): 778-788.
• Yeates, W.G., Coleman, D.C., 1982. Role of nematodes in decomposition. In: Nematodes in soil ecosystem. Freckman, D.W. (Ed.). University of Texas Press. Austin, USA. pp. 50-80.