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Bad Soil Bacteria Can Be Good 07-22-15 | News

Bad Soil Bacteria Can Be Good

Bacteria in the soil are mainly responsible for changing inorganic molecules from one chemical form to another, providing other organisms with what they need for their own processes.

2015 has been designated the International Year of Soil, and the Soil Science Society of America has stepped up its efforts to educate the public about the importance of dirt.

In one of their recent blog posts, Mary Stromberger, a soil scientist at Colorado State University, writes about the role that bacteria plays in the soil.

Of the millions of different types of microbes that live in the soil, some are disease causing but along with the good bacteria, fungi and other animal life in the dirt, they create biodiversity. This allows for the essential function that they perform – decomposing organic matter, releasing important nutrients that otherwise would remain locked up in dead plants and animals.

"This variety of life in soil helps keep things balanced," she states. "Thus, most of the time, soil microbes are beneficial to the environment, rather than being a threat."

To read Stromberger's entire blog post and others, visit https://soilsmatter.wordpress.com.