Why test soil for life? Part 1: Moisture Content
In the first part of this mini-series we dangle our proverbial toes (or green fingers) in to the ground for a quick dip on understanding the importance of soil moisture and the relationship with microorganisms.
Moisture content
Soil Moisture is calculated for soils and solid amendments, such as compost. There are many different ways to determine this value, the most usual method for a soil analysis lab being the loss on drying method. In this form, the value represents the level of moisture in given a sample as a percentage, that is to say the amount of, or mass, of a sample that is liquid (water) on an as-received basis.
The measurement will lie between 0 and 100%. A zero value would indicate the complete absence of moisture, whereas 100% would probably have trickled to floor before it made it to the laboratory oven for drying! It is sensible to track this metric throughout the season as climatic conditions change. If you need help with setting up a mechanism to capture and analyse you soil data, get in touch with MBS and ask for information on their Soil Surveillance System.
The importance of soil moisture being correct cannot be understated enough for a correctly functioning soil. It is a key parameter on any test report as the subsequent analysis for bacteria, fungi and protozoa depend directly on this value.
In the real-world, the liquid component is vital to the health of the soil ecosystem – assisting microorganisms with the fundamental requirements for their own survival as well as helping to mobilise nutrients to plants and allowing for movement between soil particles. With a complete absence of moisture is unlikely that your microscopic workers will last for any great length of time, dying off or turning inactive until conditions change. On the other hand, saturation will reduce the oxygen content, starving the microbes of the basic requirement of life forms and turn the soil anaerobic, promoting condition for harmful organisms. In these extremes it is highly likely that you will have already observed the demise of your crop and taken to rowing across you field instead.
If you would like to get ahead and test your own soil for moisture content, health and more get in touch with Soibiolab and ask for more information on their services.
In the next installment of our series we will cover off Bacteria.
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