EXERCISE 10

ORGANIC MATTER DECOMPOSITION

☺ Organic materials such as plant residues and animal remains decompose in

the soil to form humus or soil organic matter

☺ Under aerated soil conditions, decomposition produces carbon dioxide,

energy and plant nutrients like N, P and S for the heterotrophic soil organisms

 Heterotrophic organism - organism that requires organic

substrates to get its carbon for growth and development

- organism that is incapable of making its own

food from light or inorganic compounds and feed on organisms or
the remains of other organisms to get its necessary energy to
survive

☺ Different organic materials decompose at different rates depending, among

other factors, on the carbon-nitrogen ratio (C/N) of the material. The higher
the C/N ratio (>30%), the slower the decay rate, the faster the decay rate, the
faster the mineralization rate of nutrients from the organic materials.

Importance of the C/N Ratio

1. keen competition for available N results when residues having a high C/N
ratio are added to soils.

2. the maintenance of carbon, and hence, soil organic matter, is dependent to

no small degree on the soil nitrogen level.

Reasons why the carbon-nitrogen ratio (C/N) is being determined

1. it is not necessary to separate the organic from the mineral matter.

2. C:N ratio is helpful in assessing the influence of the organic matter on plant
growth.

 Any condition that encourages decomposition usually lowers the C/N ratio.
Much of the carbon goes off as CO2 with rapid decomposition.

8:1 – 15:1 → common range of C/N ratio in the organic matter of the furrow slice
(10:1 – 12:1, median).
Release and Immobilization of N and Other Nutrients

● The decay of organic matter can release organic nitrogen, sulfur and
phosphate as free ions. The effect is most important for N.

● Microbial decay releases N in the form of ammonium, NH4+, or it can

immobilize N as microbes take up ammonium or nitrate and convert them to
organic N.

● The net effect – mobilization or immobilization – depends on how well the

decomposing material itself provides N to the decomposer microbes.

→ If it provides plenty of N, the microbes will release the surplus

→ If it provides insufficient N, the microbes will absorb ammonium and nitrate

from the soil, and the resulting shortage of available N can limit plant growth,
microbial growth and the decay process itself.

Factors Controlling Rates of Organic Matter Decay

1. Properties of the organic matter

♦ decay is retarded if the material is in large pieces, dense or non-porous
♦ farmers can accelerate the decay of bulky crop residues by chopping and
spreading them, cultivating them into the soil or turning livestock onto the field

2. Amount of organic matter and stage of decay

♦ the rate of decay is roughly proportional to the amount present
♦ high relative decay rates approaching 50% per week are common in fresh
plant materials, but for humus, a typical rate would be only 3% per year

3. pH, salinity and mineral nutrients

♦ decay is inhibited by extremes of soil pH (below 4.5 and above 9), very high
salinity and deficiencies of mineral nutrients (most commonly N)
♦ expression of these constraints is obscured because the same factors also
constrain organic matter production

4. Water
♦ decay, like plant growth, goes fastest at water potentials in the range of -10 to
-50 kPa and slows progressively as the soil becomes drier
♦ at very high water potentials, (approaching saturation, -10 to 0 kPa), decay
slows markedly because of the shortage of oxygen.
5. Temperature
♦ in cold weather, crop residues can be slow to decompose and organic
manures slow to release nutrients

6. Oxygen
♦ anoxia slows the decay of organic matter in general and of lignin and humus
in particular.

Managing Soil Organic Matter

The management of soil organic matter has one or more of the following
purposes:

1. disposing of organic materials, ranging from urban waste to crop residues

2. building up or maintaining the level of humus in the soil to improve structure,

water retention, and S supply, cation retention and pH buffering

3. directly alleviating the effects of clay and poor structure on water infiltration
and aeration

4. providing a mulch to protect the soil surface from crusting, erosion or

overheating.

→ These purposes are not entirely compatible with one another.

☺ rapid decay, for instance, is desirable for disposal, and a degree of

decay is necessary for making humus

☺ by contrast, infiltration improves if the added organic matter is coarsely

fibrous; the benefit diminishes when the fibers decay.

☺ likewise, mulches must resist decay if they are to last.