Soil Organic Matter

Review - Soil organisms

Bacteria
Most numerous, smallest
Aerobic and anaerobic

Actinomycetes
Share characteristics of bacteria and fungi
Active in degradation of resistant compounds

Fungi
Aerobic only, filamentous
Active in degradation of resistant compounds

Major Soil Organisms

Bacteria 108/gram

Actinomycetes
107/gram

Fungi 106/gram

Soil Microorganisms
Can be classified according to C and energy
sources and their oxygen requirement:
photoautotrophs
Energy from sunlight & C from CO2
Some bacteria and algae only

chemoautotrophs
Energy from oxidizing inorganic material, C from CO2
Some bacteria only

chemoheterotrophs
Energy and C from oxidation of organic materials
Most bacteria, all fungi and actinomycetes

Soil Microorganisms
Oxygen requirement
aerobic
Require free O2 for respiration
All fungi and actinomycetes, most bacteria

anaerobic
Must use alternative electron acceptors instead of O2
NO3 -, SO4 2-, Fe3+ , CO2

Some bacteria are anaerobic

facultative
Can be aerobic or anaerobic. Some bacteria

Decomposition of Plant Residues

(Under aerobic conditions)
CO2
Plant
Residues
+
Dead
Microorganisms

More microbial biomass

NH4+, SO42-, etc. (inorganic waste)
Humus (organic waste)

Soil Organic Matter

Soil organic matter: all organic matter
in the soil, including humus, microbial
biomass, and plant and animal residues
in various stages of decomposition.
Composed of a wide range of organic
materials, from highly decomposable to
resistant to decomposition.

Roles of Soil Organic Matter

Microbial substrate
Nutrient reserve (esp. N, P, S)
CEC
Water-Holding capacity
Soil structure

Humus
The stable portion of soil organic matter that
results from microbial degradation of
residues.
Dark colored
About 58% C, 5% N
Complex chemical structure, aromatic plus
aliphatic functional groups
Difficult to break down because of structure
high CEC

Humus
The major organic waste by-product of
OM degradation.
The percentage of a residue that will
become humus is approx. proportional to
its lignin content.

Lignin

Humus

Carbon
Hydrogen
Oxygen
Nitrogen

Decomposition of Organic
Matter
Organic materials are decomposed by
heterotrophic microorganisms. The
carbon
organic matter is a source of _______,
energy
nutrients
__________,
and _____________
to
these organisms.

Humus and Nutrients

Humus contains about 58% C, 5%N, 0.6%
P, and 0.6% S
How much humus in soils?
An Aridisol might contain 0.5% SOM by weight, a Mollisol 3-5% by weight

How much OM does this represent?

An Aridisol with 0.5% SOM in the top 30 cm will contain
3000 m3/ha x 1500 kg/m3 x 0.005 = 22,500 kg/ha (top 30 cm)

A Mollisol with 5.0% SOM in the top 30 cm will contain

3000 m3/ha x 1500 kg/m3 x 0.05 = 225,000 kg/ha (top 30 cm)

Decomposition of Humus
The rate of decomposition of humus is most strongly
affected by soil moisture and temperature (<1 to
>5%/yr).
Humus is chemically complex and has a C:N ratio of
about 11:1
High soil temperatures, abundant (but not excessive)
moisture encourages rapid humus breakdown
In soils where OM content is not decreasing, synthesis
of new humus approximately equals decomposition of
old humus.

Decomposition (Mineralization) of
Humus
Releases N as NH4+ , available for plants

If 2.5% of the N in SOM is mineralized each year,

how much N would be released for plant uptake?
Aridisol (from previous example)
22,500 kg SOM/ha x 0.05 kg N/kg SOM x 0.025 (% min)
= 28 kg N/ha

Mollisol (from previous example)

225,000 kg SOM/ha x 0.05 kg N/kg SOM x 0.025 (%
min) = 280 kg N/ha

Decomposition of Plant Residues

(Under aerobic conditions)
CO2
Plant
Residues
+
Dead
Microorganisms

More microbial biomass

NH4+, SO42-, etc. (inorganic waste)
Humus (organic waste)

What Happens to Residues?

Chemically simple
residues

Chemically complex
residues

CO2

CO2

Biomass

Biomass

Waste

Waste

Decomposition of Plant Material

The rate of decomposition of plant
residues is governed mostly by:
Chemical makeup of the residue
C:N ratio
Available soil N
Temperature, moisture, oxygen, and other
environmental conditions that affect microbial
growth

Chemical Composition of Plant Residues

Sugars
Simple proteins
Starchs

Complex proteins

Hemicellulose

Increasing chemical complexity

Increasing rate of decomposition

Cellulose
Waxes

Lignin

C:N Ratio
Why is the C:N ratio important?
Microorganisms need C and N in fixed ratios,
because C and N are used to synthesize proteins,
nucleic acids, etc.
Bacterial cell C:N is 5:1 to 8:1. Since about 50% of
the C in an organic material is converted to CO2,
they need roughly a C:N of 10:1 to 16:1 in the
residue they consume.
Fungi need a C:N of about 40:1 in their diet

C:N Ratio
decomposition
50 g C

20 g as CO2
10 g as waste

20 g as biomass

Therefore, if the residue

containing 50 g of C
contains < 2 g of N
(C:N>25:1), it will have
insufficient N for microbial
needs. What about
>2 g N (C:N <25:1)

Microbial biomass has an average

C:N of 10:1, therefore how much N
is needed to balance the new biomass
C?

2g

C:N Ratios
High C:N material:
Woody
Grain crop residue
Mature plant tissues

Low C:N material:

Green
Young plant tissues
Legume residues
Composts
Manures

C:N Ratio and Residue Mgmt.

What are the implications of the C:N ratio
of crop residues for nutrient management?

Immobilization
The conversion of inorganic (available) N (NH4+, NO3-)
to microbial biomass N. Results from...

CO2 release

NH4+ and NO3-)

C:N ratio of residues

Time

Mineralization
The conversion of organic (unavailable) N to NH4+ .
Results from...
C:N ratio of residues

NH4+

CO2 release

Time