Whenever plant residues return to soil, there are tons of organic compounds that are undergoing decomposition. This is basically a biological process that includes biochemical transformation and physical breakdown of complex organic molecules of various dead materials into a simpler inorganic and organic molecule.
Continuous process of adding decaying plant residue to the soil’s surface is contributing to the carbon cycling process and biological activity in the soil. The breakdown of soil organic matter as well as root growth and decay is contributing as well to these processes while carbon cycling is more of the continual transformation of inorganic and organic carbon compounds by plants and also, macro and micro organisms among plants, soil and atmosphere.
The decomposition of organic matter is basically a biological procedure that naturally takes place. There are three determining factors for its speed and these are the following:
- Physical Environment
- Soil Organisms and;
- Quality of Organic Matter
Throughout the composition process, there are different products that are released and these include:
- Carbon Dioxide
- Plant Nutrients
- Water
- Energy
- Resynthesized Organic Carbon Compounds
How the Process Goes?
The successive decomposition of dead materials as well as organic matter leads to the formation of an even more complex organic matter which is referred to as humus. In this procedure, it is called in science as humification.
Humus is affecting the properties of the soil for it is slowly decomposing, it darkens the soil’s color and increases aggregation of the soil while aggregating its stability.
Soil organisms which include microorganisms are using soil organic matter for food. The moment that it breaks it down, any excess nutrients are then released back to the soil in forms that these plants could use. The process is otherwise called as mineralization. The waste products that are produced by microorganisms are soil organic matter as well. This waste material is actually less decomposable compared to original animal and plant material but, it could be used by a greater number of organisms.
Simple Safety Precautions
Say that you are making thorough observations of the process and you don’t want anyone to budge in to your experiment, it is ideal to find out about the smallest hidden cameras by iShotify. Get one that you can use to do surveillance on the area while you’re out so you would be able to know who the culprit is for whatever happened in your experiment.