CAUTION! This is seriously outside the box and possibly sensitive, but graveyards are great places to go – if you’re into soil.
As long as you’re not planning on staying indefinitely! 🙂
Think about it. The soil there should be really healthy.
Here’s why.
It is left undisturbed for relatively long periods. Traffic is restricted, mainly on a Sunday and for special events, and generally low volume – primarily limited to foot. And, everyone feels a bit funny walking over a grave don’t they?
Then you have the flora. The grass, hardy shrubs and trees.
Typically there is the odd Yew tree or two, abutting an ancient boundary or hedge or standing soldier-like on sentry on amongst the stone pieces. They are usually quite old and have co-evolved with soil itself, forming symbiotic relationships with the fauna that are too complex to comprehend, though will likely be significantly beneficial for fungi levels. The cover and the protection of the established green landscape and the shade afforded by the steeple tower, provide the first line of defence against climatic extremes.
Trees in grave yards can be old, solitary and often have co-evolved with the soil itself
Soil level is frequently elevated in the oldest of these traditional village settings. Contained within a wall, often many feet above other features in and around the site, like paths, gates and roadways. This is great for water drainage and maintaining optimal moisture content. I was led to believe (rightly or wrongly) that ‘coffins drifted underground’. Is this just an old wife’s tale or is the soil really so light, friable and free-flowing at this type of depth? I suppose it may be if it is occasionally being dug up and added to…
Then you’ve got the organic matter! Should be a pretty high %, shouldn’t it? We are made of soil, as we consume it, digest and absorb it in all its different forms. Eventually we are returned to it.
And head stones. Great supply of trace elements! As the granite or marble stone is gently eroded over time, years, centuries, the elements perculate through the soil, feeding it. Fuelling microbial interactions, nourishing plants and grasses.
If you’ve ever tested soil in a graveyard, I would love to hear your experience. Or, if you have ever pondered this question, and are strange like me, also reach out.
Different I know. But if you enjoyed it, we’d love you support if you can click LIKE below.
Well actually, no. That’s not really true. The principles of a healthy, correctly functioning soil are though.
Once you start to consider, even at a very basic level, some of the relationships and manner in which the different components of soil interact with one another, things start to fall in to shape and build your confidence in what you are doing or the new approaches that you are looking to adopt.
The aspects of soil are intrinsically linked and when balanced plants will generally grow better
You get the soil you’re given.
That much is true and whilst can be very difficult (and costly) to fundamentally alter the texture and manage the PHYSICAL ASPECT of your soil, a great place to start looking in to is the level of organic matter that your soil contains.  Due to intense growing or mono-crop type situations, this is usually one of the first natural resources to decline. As a result, increased levels of nutrition or supplements have to provided in it’s place, often increasing the rate of declining levels of the soil’s ‘power house’ even more rapidly.
Organic matter can means different things to different people, depending on the industry you are in. In sports turf, it can mean thatch and is undesirable. So let’s differentiate here – we are talking about the the core reserves of carbon and organic compounds that drive the natural processes in the soil.
Thatch in turfgrass is not the same type of organic matter that we are concerned with in terms of soil function, though when degraded and can assist in a similar way
If you are looking to manage your levels of SOM you should understand the importance of the carbon and nitrogen balance necessary to enable efficient function: too high a level of C:N in your SOM and you are likely to rob naturally acquired nitrogen and even some of that which you are paying well earned cash to add to make your crops grow. An exaggerated example of this would be adding raw sawdust! If the levels of carbon too low in the SOM that you are adding then it is likely that you will struggle to support a meaningful level of microbial life – key part of the natural cycle that will make essential nutrients available to plants.
pH is of primary concern when considering the CHEMICAL ASPECT and nutritional demands of commercial crops and for this reason is often the most frequent and actively managed limiting factors in soil and growing media. It is vital importance that farmers, growers and managers obtain a comprehensive understanding of the different form and concentrations that the essential elements are present in. This requires a detailed soil test. The historic approach to managing limitations around this characteristic of soil has been a direct response using treatments such as liming, granular fertilisers or foliar feeds as the matter of course for dealing with issues surrounding crop nutrition.
The acidity or alkalinity of you soil will directly influence the availability of elements (foods) to your plants
Which brings us nicely to soil life and the BIOLOGICAL ASPECT.
Where does this fit in?
Well, everywhere actually.
It is neither more or less important than concerns around the physical and chemical aspects of soil. It is neither the start or the end of the cycle, however it is necessary throughout.
Fungi are the least common organism in cultivated soil
Whilst we may be some way off fully understanding the many different roles that the different microorganism play in the skin of our planet, we do know that where soil is working well (in a sustainable manner) it is prolific, diverse and BALANCED.
Bacteria help to convert atmospheric nitrogen in to plant available forms, fungi can help mobilise elements like phosphorus to plant roots despite soil tests showing low available levels of P, nematodes help maintain a balance of smaller organisms whilst releasing quantities of soluble foods in to the soil solution and warding off harmful plant feeder types (such as the Potato Cyst Nematode that has vilified this abundance and helpful creature!). Mycorrhizal fungi enhance the complex network of crop roots to help plants scavenge for other essential and micronutrients or obtain water in times of drought. The list of interactions and benefits goes on.
Plants are the driver behind many if the natural processes that occur in the soil, communicating with the life in the soil to obtain just what it needs, when it needs it.
The (micro)biology that we end up with in a field or pot of soil, is no coincidence though. The plant is very much the driver. Unseen to the naked eye, plants are slowly excreting minute traces of sugars and biochemicals (organic compounds, enzymes) that entice ‘just the right’ microscopic workforce for the job.
The order in which crops or plants are grown has a direct relationship to the type and number of microorganisms that will inhabit a soil
Needless to say, if you don’t consider the plant types that you are growing or cycling between with a crop rotation, and you are trying to develop or maintain a correctly functioning, balanced soil, the consequences could set you back significantly. For example, Brassicas or mustard are prime examples of crop types known to inhibit soil fungi and their introduction at an inappropriate point in a rotation, could alter the biomass and affect the all important ratio of bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere.
This ratio will vary between different plant types. We wrote an article a while ago which explains this in a bit more details. If you want to find out even more get in touch with SoilBioLab.
A balanced ratio between the different types of organisms in soil or growing media will enhance crop performance
So there you have, simple – every action has a consequence and the physical, biological and chemical aspects of soil are all intrinsically linked!
We cannot yet fully explain how and why things behave like they do, however we do understand that under intensive agricultural and horticultural methods that we been applying for the majority of the last century and start of this, the long term prospects are not good. It seems that they are fast becoming even more costly in more ways than one. Â Any system that relies on the continuous removal of soil matter and the mineral fraction, at the detriment of the life that holds it all together, will ‘yield’ at some point.
So what to do?
Well, with your new found understanding of the simple principles of soil science, find your limiting factor(s) first and develop strategy to resolve or mitigate these.
Quite often this can meaning operating in one of the opposing aspects of the soil environment, such as increasing or balancing the microorganisms to reduce the impact of pathogens or nutrient deficiencies; or modifying chemical applications or introducing natural compounds to enhance effectiveness and build up nutrient holding capacity is another way (humic acid is great for this) or changing tillage practices to reduce the squeeze on the physical structure of soil.
There are more methods available then ever before and new technologies to help you address your limiting factors. This is supported by a rise of experts capable of supporting a Complete Approach to soil management – our core belief.
There are more than one way to cut a cake: understanding the size and number of slices is the first step, so investment in a comprehensive assessment of your soil will pay dividends in the long run.
For centuries ploughing has been the mainstay of farming however new thinking suggests it could be more damaging then we previously thought
Over the past few decades, farmers have been abandoning the plough in favour of no-till agriculture or conservation tillage, using equipment that only disturbs the soil to a minimal degree. Â No-till and conservation tillage are widely accepted to maintain or improve soil quality by preserving soil structure and moisture, increasing soil organic matter, and providing habitat for the soil microbiological communities.
Tillage is used as a method to enhance crop production, control weeds and prepare the seedbed. As with any management practice, tillage influences the soil environment and can have negative effects including soil erosion and degradation of the soil structure. These effect the habitat for the soil microorganisms and therefore often a loss of nutrients.
Whilst no-till soil is generally cooler and moister when compared to a soil under more intensive cultivation, accessibility to organic matter is generally greater when tillage is applied. This is due to organic residues being broken down, increasing the available surface area for microbial colonisation. Whilst this is of direct benefit, it is generally accepted that there is a greater microbial abundance in soils under a no-till regime and that these soils have a more favourable microclimate compared to conventional farming practices.
Tillage can harm the soil biomass and increase erosion
Until now, most of the studies linking tillage intensity and microbial activity have been performed at individual farm level. Most of these studies do find more soil microbes with no-till management, however the magnitude of biomass varies a lot due to variations in environmental factors, agronomic practices and differences between soil types across fields and farms. Where no-till is compared with tillage, the type of equipment and tillage depth also differs.
A recent study, by Zuber and Villamil at the University of Illinois, collected data from peer reviewed scientific studies on the effect of soil management practices on microbial biomass and activity. The data from 62 studies was collated into a database and the effect of the different management practices on soil properties across multiple experimental sites, locations and climactic regimes assessed.
The results of the study showed that microbial biomass is reduced under tillage compared to no-till possibly due to the more favourable environmental conditions under the no-till regime. There was however one exception to this, with microbial biomass not appearing to be diminished under chisel tillage systems.
Overall, the study suggests that since soil microbial biomass and enzymatic activity can stand in as proxies for soil quality, farmers should consider moving toward no-till or conservation tillage systems – as helping the soil function better helps your crops grow better, and can also maintain high quality soil for sustainability purposes.
The original article, “Meta-analysis approach to assess effect of tillage on microbial biomass and enzyme activities,” is published in Soil Biology & Biochemistry.
Putting this in to practise…
Working closely with the team at SoilBioLab, I am only too aware that one of the challenges faced when we asked to advise clients, is the lack of (sample) information.
However, recently we experienced one of those rare occasions where we knew much more about the origin, than usual – early this year we undertook the microbiological analysis of samples from two different farms, at precisely the same time.
One farm had been organic for over 30 years, the other had been no-till for just over 3 years.
Notwithstanding the inherent variables that accompany a more robust comparison than this (full history, location, texture etc.) it was very interesting to observe full soil microbiology reports at the end of the process that looked almost identical – both farms with soil assessments that indicated very good levels of microorganisms.  This ‘one-off’ scenario seems to support the findings by Zuber and Villamil and one can speculate that the effect of reducing/ceasing mechanical interventions to fields are as beneficial to microorganisms (like fungi), as a reduction of chemical treatments.
Organic no-till, the ultimate combination(?)
The reality, is that there is this bit in the middle, where we do not fully understand where the interactions between crop, soil chemistry, soil biology and physical structure start and end or where they might receive the largest benefit from our focussed intervention – we’re jumping from ‘A to F’ with wild statements like this.
Our advice, find out for yourself!
What testing or field work are you conducting, to ensure your future success?
We have developed trials and are involved in experimental projects with many different farmers and growers, so are well placed to help you to test and measure for yourself, the benefits of managing and exploiting the functions of soil life, in a cost effective manner. If you want to understand more about the ‘bit in the middle’ by adopting a more complete approach to soil and crop management, take action and contact us today.
Mycorrhizal fungi are often one of the first biological inoculants that professional growers begin experimenting with in order to increase crop performance in a more natural way. Let’s have a look at why and how this appears on a soil test report.
Mycorrhizal fungi are important and prolific organisms that can develop symbiotic relationships with the roots of more than 95% of all plants on the planet. This requires them to live in (endomycorrhizal) or on (ectomycorrhizal) the plant roots, extending their hyphae into the soil and thus producing phosphate, nitrogen, other nutrients and water available to the host plant. They extend the effective root area many hundreds of times so plants grow faster, larger and stronger without the need to apply as much fertiliser or water.
Test report showing an assessment of colonisation
In order to measure these beneficial organisms, careful preparations must be carried out to ensure that roots are not damaged and the fungi remain visible. Tip –Â if you require this particular analysis, you should capture fine roots at each location, to ensure that the extraction process is possible and measurements can be performed under microscope by the laboratory technicians. If you need guidance on this, a reputable, specialist laboratory like this one, can help you plan your collection technique and discuss with you the type of plant roots which need to be observed so you can be sure of what type of colonisation may be present when the assessment is carried out.
When determining the presence of Mycorrhizal fungi in samples of soil, we are in fact concentrating just on the fine root fibres present in the growing media. This is not a direct count, as this is typical for other fungi measurements. The figure that is reported is a percentage, correlating to the number of microscope fields that it was possible to detect the presence of either one of the types of Mycorrhizas.
A lot of producers work at increasing the presence of Mycorrhizal fungi to exploit the natural relationship with plants and get the most out of their particular growing environment. Many producers report superior quality crops as well as accelerated growth, particularly when young plants or seeds are inoculated with the spores. In any event, it is vital to monitor your soil data to make sure you are achieving worthwhile results when investing in a quality biological product.
Nematodes are the most prolific multi-cellular organisms on the planet and key to the correct function of soil and grow media with their nutrient cycling ability.
The ongoing challenge for growers is how to survive in an economically and environmentally challenging climate. The goal posts seem to keep changing and the biological clock is ticking.
