August 14, 2012
Do you think of the soil beneath your feet as an ecosystem? You probably don’t, but you should. Soil is not just a layer of brown stuff over a deeper layer of rock; soil is a complex living strata full of creatures, critters, and plants, many of them working in concert with each other in order to sustain life. It’s an idea I was first exposed to a few years back when the giant pumpkin growers were telling me about how they owe the healthiness of their giant gourds to helpful fungi. The fungi, known as mychorrhizal fungi bind to the roots of the plants allowing them to more effectively take up nutrients and water. If you’re a botany nerd, a microbe nerd, a plant nerd, or just a nerd nerd, you should really read this fascinating article to learn more about the stuff below your feet. ~AR (via Underground Communities: The plant roots that collect bacteria | Lab Rat, Scientific American Blog Network)

Do you think of the soil beneath your feet as an ecosystem? You probably don’t, but you should.

Soil is not just a layer of brown stuff over a deeper layer of rock; soil is a complex living strata full of creatures, critters, and plants, many of them working in concert with each other in order to sustain life.

It’s an idea I was first exposed to a few years back when the giant pumpkin growers were telling me about how they owe the healthiness of their giant gourds to helpful fungi. The fungi, known as mychorrhizal fungi bind to the roots of the plants allowing them to more effectively take up nutrients and water. If you’re a botany nerd, a microbe nerd, a plant nerd, or just a nerd nerd, you should really read this fascinating article to learn more about the stuff below your feet. ~AR

(via Underground Communities: The plant roots that collect bacteria | Lab Rat, Scientific American Blog Network)

11:06am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZV1L5yRP1e9E
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Filed under: Soil Plants microbes Mychorrhizal Fungi Biomes Forests 
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    It’s true, soil’s rad. They’re part of the more interesting bits in these archaeobotanical papers I’ve been...
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