Soil Health: Contribution of Fungus
There are many diverse groups of organisms that make up a soil food web. Beneficial growth in activity playing a huge role in the Nitrogen Cycle, there is an endless rotation of give and take when it comes to reproduction in organic agriculture. Soil quality and environment is dependent on the population of organisms that help break down nutrients, decompose compounds, and fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. There are six functional groups of organisms that make up healthy soil; Bacteria, Fungi, Protozoa, Nematodes, Arthropods, and Earthworms.
Many points of interest is Fungi. Being everywhere in the ecosystem around us, in our bodies, visible and non visible, this organism is largely fascinating. It is intriguing on what role fungus plays in our society, our adaptation as a human species, and how it impacts our health through the food we consume. Let’s start at the foundation. Mother Earth. Fungi, also known as “hyphae” grow in long strands of microscopic cells that develop and rapidly grow between particles, roots, and rocks. Physically, fungal creates a healthy infiltration of water, converts material into nutrients, and protects plants against disease. We see this today in our health care systems alike. Antibiotics were developed from fungus and help our own bodies with fighting disease. Who would have known how similar and connected we are with the plants of our environment? Back to the soil, fungi can still group together in masses called “rhizomorphs” that forms like roots. Expanding in length from a few cells up to yards, fungi is a force to be reckoned with. Living in a Fungal World by Larissa B. Folman states, “Fossils of the first land plants have revealed that filamentous fungi, resembling the glomalean mycorrhizal fungi, were present in their root tissues”. She hypothesizes fungal being crucial to the ability of plants colonizing the land. Fungi has been holding it down since the beginning.
Based on expansion and consumption of energy, fungi are broken down into three different groups; Decomposers, Mutualists, and Pathogens. Saprophytic Fungi are decomposers that convert dead organisms into biomass which is important for retaining nutrients, micronutrients, and nitrogen in the soil. Mycorrhizal Fungi are mutualists that occupy the plant roots. Endomycorrhizal mutualists help bring phosphorus and other nutrients to the root system of grasses, row crops, vegetables, and shrubs. Ectomycorrhizal grow on the surface level of tree roots. Pathogens or Parasites categorized as Verticillium, Pythium, and Rhizoctonia, can reduce death and disease when present in soil. Feeding on different insects, they can be used as an effective natural pesticide. Fungi naturally occuring in soil, is found in the moist part of the roots, producing biomass in aerobiotic conditions where the soil is either compacted or waterlogged.
Frontiers of Microbiology, with the Polish Academy of Sciences state Mycorrhizal Fungi are the most beneficial microorganisms in agricultural soils. Their symbiosis reveals this fungi can improve rooting establishment, soil structure, yield, and diversity while stimulating the nutrient cycling. Mycorrhizal Fungi is how most trees and agriculture crops are able to obtain water. Land management can threaten these organisms life, while tillage and fungicides are also toxic to the production of Mycorrhizal. Even though Mycorrhizal is available as a soil additive, very high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers can reduce inoculation of roots. The levels of nitrogen is the fundamental base level of any healthy soil.
In Conclusion, Fungi are the start of the soil food web that supports the diverse family of organisms and healthy soil. Fungi growth and population is the way of future colonization and development in Agriculture, Horticulture, and Permaculture. “And, as in humans, the symbiotic partnership between a plant and the microbes that live on its leaves and roots and in the soil around it is utterly essential to the plant’s continued existence and health.” (Cynthia Garber, Article on Fungus the Future of Farming)
Graber, C., & Twilley, N. (2014, November 20). Is this fungus the future of farming?. Mother Jones.
