Explanation of Micro-biology at the Soil Laboratory
Here we have an image of a fungal hypha which is a long thread like structure. We measure the diameter and the length of the fungal strand to estimate how much bio mass is present in the soil sample.
Surrounding this fungal hypha we have lots of other little dots which are bacteria and there is also some brown organic matter and other particulate matter.
This shows the top surface of a leaf. We are interested in the glowing parts which you can see on this image. There are only a few little dots, which are fungal spores and bacterial bodies.
We then applied our special compost tea and looked at the leaf surface again. The following image shows the leaf surface after the application of the compost tea.
Now there is much greater colonisation. In particular, you can see fungal stands growing across and covering the leaf surface much better than in the previous image.
This picture is of a special type of Mycorrhizal fungus that penetrates through the root system of the plant forming the circular structures called vesicles. The plant will send sugars and nutrients to the vesicles to feed the fungi and the fungi will grow out from the root system, accessing moisture and minerals from the surrounding soil and piping them back to the root system, helping to feed the plant. This mutually beneficial relationship is called symbiosis.
Here we have pictures of four different types of nematodes.
The top right image is a parasitic nematode, with a little spear-like structure projecting out of his mouth, which punctures the plant root system. The nematode will then suck out the plant sugars to feed itself. He is the bad guy - a plant parasitic nematode that causes crop loss and disease.
The top left image is a predatory nematode, which is much larger and fatter and actually eats other nematodes. You can see him in the process of swallowing another nematode. This is how nature keeps a balance between the good and the bad microbes. The predatory ones consume the parasitic ones and keep their population in check.
We also look at other groups of nematodes. The bottom two images are nematodes that feed on bacteria and fungi for their energy. During this process, nutrients are recycled, released and excreted from the nematode and then the plant can use these for its own growth.
Here is a graphical representation of the nutrient supplies that the crop is able to access. There are three pools of nutrients: the total extractable (a very much longer term nutrient supply), the exchangeable fraction (a medium term supply) and the soluble pool (a short term supply). Nutrients will move through these different pools, beginning their life in the total extractable pool and, by the biological activity of micro-organisms, moving down into an exchangeable form and then, by further activity of micro-organisms, into the soluble/short term pool. From there they will be absorbed by the root system.
This is how nutrients are recycled and made available to the plants. The presence of micro-organisms means biologically active soils. A high concentration of these beneficial micro-organisms is very important for making sure that nutrients are available to our crops.
This is just a graphical representation of what we call the Soil Food Web, which shows the inter-relationships between the organisms that live underground. The Soil Food Web has different levels, starting with the plants and the organic matter. The first group of micro-organisms will consume that organic matter; the second level will consume those micro-organisms and so on, working up the food chain. Essentially it is like a little fish being eaten by a big fish, which is then eaten by an even bigger fish. Each organism may eat, or be eaten by, more than one other organism, creating a web of feeding relationships. When an organism is either consumed by another organism or dies (so that its body decays or is consumed) the nutrients are broken down and released in a form that becomes available to feed the plant.
This image represents our balanced approach to farming and soil health.
It shows the relationship between the soil's chemical properties (mineral nutrients) , the soil's microbial activity (biological health) and the physical nature of the soil. We believe they are all of equal importance to soil health and productivity.
A conventional approach to soil health often involves a narrow focus on the chemical components but in reality the physical and biological attributes of the soil can have quite a strong influence over that chemistry. In other words, they are all important aspects that should be considered as a whole. This holistic way of viewing soil and soil health underpins our philosophy of biodynamic farming.