Unveiling the Wonders of Soil Fungi: Understanding Their Importance and Role in Our Ecosystem

Introduction: Welcome to our blog where we embark on a fascinating journey to explore the world of soil fungi. Beneath our feet lies a hidden realm teeming with life, and soil fungi are among the unsung heroes that play a crucial role in maintaining the health and vitality of our planet's ecosystems. From nutrient cycling to plant symbiosis, soil fungi have intricate interactions that are essential for the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. In this blog, we will delve into the fascinating world of soil fungi, uncovering their importance, diversity, and the crucial roles they play in our environment.

Importance of Soil Fungi: Soil fungi, also known as mycorrhizal fungi, are a group of fungi that form mutualistic associations with plant roots. They are vital for plant growth and ecosystem functioning. One of the key roles of soil fungi is nutrient cycling. They break down complex organic matter, such as dead plant material and animal remains, into simpler forms that can be absorbed by plants. This nutrient recycling process helps to replenish soil fertility and supports plant growth.

In addition, soil fungi form mutualistic associations with most plants, forming structures called mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizal associations enhance the plant's ability to uptake nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, from the soil. In return, the plants provide the fungi with carbohydrates, which the fungi use as a food source. This mutually beneficial relationship between plants and soil fungi is essential for the health and productivity of natural and agricultural ecosystems alike.

Soil fungi also play a vital role in soil structure and stability. They form a complex network of thread-like structures called mycelium, which acts as a glue, binding soil particles together and creating pore spaces. This improves soil structure, water infiltration, and aeration, which are crucial for plant growth and soil health.

Diversity of Soil Fungi: Soil fungi are an incredibly diverse group, with thousands of species found in various ecosystems around the world. They belong to different taxonomic groups, including Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Glomeromycota, and Zygomycota. Each group has its unique characteristics and ecological functions.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are the most widespread type of mycorrhizal fungi, forming mutualistic associations with the majority of plant species. They are known for their ability to colonize plant roots and facilitate nutrient uptake, particularly phosphorus. Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF), on the other hand, form mutualistic associations with tree species and are important in forest ecosystems. They are known for their ability to form intricate networks of mycelium around the tree roots and enhance nutrient cycling.

In addition to mycorrhizal fungi, there are also many other groups of soil fungi, such as saprotrophic fungi, which break down dead organic matter, and pathogenic fungi, which can cause diseases in plants. The diversity of soil fungi is still being explored, and scientists continue to discover new species and uncover their ecological roles in different ecosystems.

The Critical Connection Between Soil Health and Food: Understanding the Link

 Introduction:

Soil health is a crucial factor that directly impacts the quality and quantity of our food. Healthy soil provides the foundation for robust plant growth, affecting the nutritional content and safety of the food we eat. As consumers, it's important to understand the critical connection between soil health and food and how it impacts our overall well-being. This blog will explore the relationship between soil health and food and why it matters for our health and the environment.

The Importance of Soil Health:

Soil health refers to soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties that determine its ability to support plant growth and sustain ecosystem functions. Healthy soil is rich in organic matter, nutrients, and beneficial microorganisms and has good structure and water-holding capacity. It provides an optimal environment for plant roots to grow, access nutrients, and uptake water, resulting in healthy plant growth and high-quality food production.

Healthy soil also plays a vital role in supporting biodiversity and ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, water filtration, and nutrient cycling. It serves as a habitat for diverse microorganisms, insects, and other organisms that contribute to the overall health and resilience of ecosystems. In contrast, degraded soil, characterized by erosion, nutrient depletion, and loss of organic matter can result in poor plant growth, reduced crop yields, and increased vulnerability to pests and diseases.

Impact on Food Quality:

The health of soil directly affects the quality of the food we consume. Nutrient-rich soil is essential for the production of nutrient-dense crops, which are critical for human health. When plants grow in healthy soil, they are able to take up essential minerals and nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and magnesium, which are important for human nutrition. These nutrients are then transferred to the food we eat, contributing to its nutritional content. In addition to essential nutrients, healthy soil also promotes the presence of beneficial microorganisms, such as mycorrhizal fungi and bacteria, that form symbiotic relationships with plant roots. These microorganisms help plants in nutrient uptake, disease suppression, and overall plant health. They can also enhance the flavor, aroma, and shelf life of food, making it more enjoyable and nutritious for consumers. Furthermore, healthy soil can reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides in food production. By promoting natural soil fertility and biodiversity, healthy soil can enhance the natural defense mechanisms of plants against pests and diseases, reducing the reliance on chemical inputs. This can lead to the production of safer and more sustainable food for consumers, free from harmful residues of synthetic chemicals.

Impact on Food Safety:

Soil health also plays a critical role in ensuring the safety of the food we eat. Contaminated soil can lead to the presence of harmful substances, such as heavy metals, pesticides, and pathogens, in food crops. These contaminants can accumulate in the food chain and pose risks to human health when consumed.

Healthy soil, with its well-developed biological activity, can help mitigate the presence of harmful substances in food crops. Beneficial microorganisms in healthy soil can break down or immobilize contaminants, reducing their availability to plants. In addition, healthy soil can promote a strong root system, which can act as a barrier to prevent the uptake of contaminants into plants. This can contribute to safer food production and reduce the potential risks associated with contaminated food.

The Role of Sustainable Soil Management Practices:

Sustainable soil management practices are essential in promoting soil health and ensuring the quality and safety of food production. Practices such as cover cropping, crop rotation, reduced tillage, and organic matter addition can help improve soil health by enhancing organic matter content, promoting biodiversity, reducing erosion, and conserving water.

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Mitigating CO2 while fertilizing the soil

India is the second-largest agro-based economy and year after year it generates huge crop residue and inadequate management leads to its burning which generates smoke and particulate matter emission, causing air pollution and contributes to global warming. To curtailing the issue Indian Government has launched many campaigns and some policies. According to the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), India generates an average of 500 million tons (Mt hereafter) of crop residue per year⁽¹⁾. However, the majority of the crop residue is utilized as fodder and fuel, but still, a surplus amount of residue is burned every year, this burning produces carbon dioxide and other gases that are detrimental to the environment, therefore a sustainable approach is an urgency to resolve these problems. The stubbles are rich in lignocelluloses and cellulose, therefore difficult to decompose, taking all the factors into account-why not make this biomass into a utilizable substance like producing bio-fuel and compost and utilize it to cultivate mushrooms? moreover, the dry biomass could be converted into biochar, the process of producing biochar is Pyrolysis, i.e. heating the dry mass in the absence or limited oxygen, by this process the dry stubbles converted into charcoal and this can be used in agriculture as a soil amendment when such produced charcoal is used in agriculture is termed as biochar, The marvels of this biochar is that it resides in the soil for many years, hence act as a sink of carbon dioxide and due to its physical and chemical properties, it is used in agriculture as a soil amendment. Apart from agricultural applications, it has other applications too like cosmetics, medicine, toothpaste, and many more. There are several research findings in which biochar application has been included. The leaves of the garden and others could be used for the production of leaf mold. In a research Lab of Microbial Technology, Department of  Botany, Dr.Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya, under the mentorship of Prof.Deepak Vyas, leaf mold has been prepared using the leaves of the garden, and also the small pruned branches from the botanical garden were used to produce biochar using “Top Lit Up Draft” (TLUD) methods (fig1) and their effects on different cultivar have been evaluated which were found to be significant in the study.

Figure1: Top lit Up Draft(TLUD) outline diagram, a portable production unit of Biochar⁽²⁾.

The preparations of leaf mold is not a tedious job, it's just collecting the leaves and bagging in a black polypyrene bag and sprinkled with water to mist the leaves and then after tightly close the bag and keep it aside, the bag containing the leaves must be opened in a month to check the moisture, and if required water should be  sprinkled and closed, after 5-6 months each bag of the leaves will be composted to give a silver-grey or black like organic matter sometimes called leaf mold (Fig 2)

Figure 2:Showing Leaf mold formation progressively: A (Initial stage), B (Silver grey stage), and C (Black and mature stage)⁽²⁾

The benefit of biochar:

·         Maintain pH.

·         Improve ion exchange capacity.

·         Improvise EC of the soil.

·         Act as an absorbing agent and prevent nutrient leaching.

·         Provides a niche for the soil microflora.

·         Sequestrate carbon itself being recalcitrant for many years in the soil.

·         Check the hydraulic potential of the soil.

·         Prevent water evaporation.

·         Removes pesticides by various chemical bonding.

The benefit of leaf compost or leaves mold.

·         Provides macro and micronutrients to the plants.

·         Can be used as a poting soli.

·         Used as mulch

·         Excellent compost for organic matter

·         Suitable for beneficial microbes.

·         Improves soil texture and   holds nutrients for a longer time and provides to plants slowly.

·         Could play an effective role in Harit Griha, Nagar Van establishment

With the above facts and methods described, it can be concluded that we with our simple effort could stop or prevent the burning of stubbles and the leaves by converting them to biochar and leaf mold respectively, and the processed products can be effectively utilized in agriculture as a fertilizer, burning is the simplest way of contributing carbon dioxide to the environment. Therefore these methods could help us in preventing burnings, and hence play a crucial role in mitigating the carbon while fertilizing the soil.

 

                                      “Men love to wonder, and that is the seed of science”

                                                                 - Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Reference:

1.        Bhuvaneshwari S, Hettiarachchi H, Meegoda JN. Crop residue burning in India: Policy challenges and potential solutions. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(5).

2.        Pathak P, Singh C, Chaudhary N, Vyas D. A Comparative Study of Biochar, Leaf compost and Spent Mushroom compost for tomato growth. Res J Agric Sci. 2020;11(6):1362-1366,.

Root morphology of cicer infected by fusarium

Root of chick pea infected by Fusarium sp.and causes wilt of the chickpea