African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 10(84), pp.

19840-19849, 30 December, 2011

Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJB
DOI: 10.5897/AJBX11.006
ISSN 1684–5315 © 2011 Academic Journals

Review

Soil management, microorganisms and organic matter

interactions: A review
Khosro Mohammadi1*, Gholamreza Heidari2, Shiva Khalesro2 and Yousef Sohrabi2
1
Department of Agronomy, Sanandaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj, Iran.
2
Agronomy and Plant Breeding Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.
Accepted 12 September, 2011

Plants obtain nutrients from two natural sources: organic matter and minerals. Organic matter includes
any plant or animal material that returns to the soil and goes through the decomposition process.
Different soil organisms feed on different organic substrates. Their biological activity depends on the
organic matter supply. In addition to providing nutrients and habitat to organisms living in the soil,
organic matter also binds soil particles into aggregates and improves the water holding capacity of soil.
Most soils contain 2 to 10% organic matter. However, even in small amounts, organic matter is very
important. Tillage is one of the major practices that reduce the organic matter level in the soil. Each
time the soil is tilled, it is aerated. Soil enzymes act as biological catalysts of specific reactions that
depend on a variety of factors, such as the presence or absence of inhibitors, tillage and fertilization,
and can be considered as early indicators of biological changes. The incorporation of organic
amendments to soil influences soil enzymatic activities because the added material may contain intra-
and extracellular enzymes and may also stimulate microbial activity in the soil. Integrated animal and
crop production enterprises that use manure as the primary nutrient source for crop production are not
without problems. Nutrient loading on a farm with an animal enterprise may exceed crop nutrient needs.

Key words: Fertilization, microbial activity, soil management, sustainable agriculture, tillage.

INTRODUCTION

Soil is an integral compartment of the environment and matter and soil microbiology are commendable. However,
the central organizer of the terrestrial ecosystem. Soil minerals, organic matter and microorganisms should not
quality is the fundamental foundation of environmental be considered as separate entities, but rather a united
quality largely governed by soil organic matter (SOM) system constantly in close association and interactions
content, which is dynamic and responds effectively to with each other in soil environments. Interactions of these
changes in soil management, tillage and plant production components have enormous impact on terrestrial
(Baker et al., 2007). Maintaining soil quality can reduce processes critical to environmental quality and ecosystem
the problems of land degradation, decreasing soil fertility health.
and rapidly declining production levels that occur in large In view of the significance of soil mineral–organic
parts of the world needing the basic principles of good matter–microorganism interactions, the International
farming practice. Minerals, organic components and Society of Soil Science (ISSS) established the Working
microorganisms are three major solid components of the Group MO “Interactions of Soil Minerals with Organic
soil. They profoundly affect the physical, chemical, and Components and Microorganisms” in 1990. The objective
biological properties and processes of terrestrial systems. of this Working Group is to promote research and
To date, scientific accomplishments in individual education on the interactions of these major solid
disciplines of the chemistry of soil minerals, soil organic components of soil and the impact on the production of
foodstuffs and fibers, the sustainability of the
environment, and ecosystem health including human
health on the global scale. Since its establishment, the
*Corresponding author. E-mail: khosromohammadi60@yahoo Working Group has contributed substantially to advance
.com. Tel: +98 871 6387110. Fax: +98 871 6387100. the knowledge on physical/chemical/biological interfacial
 Mohammadi et al. 19841

interactions in soil environments (Huang, 2004). Mineral aspects of biology of soils amended with organic matters,
colloids in general can directly or indirectly influence the including the number of general microorganisms (Nishio
activity of microorganisms in their immediate vicinity. and Kusano, 1980), biomass of bacteria and fungi,
Mineral colloids can also stimulate microbial activity by enzyme activities (Mohammadi, 2011) and biochemical
absorbing metabolites that would otherwise have an properties (Lynch, 1983). Microbial communities perform
adverse effect on microbial growth. Montmorillonite is necessary ecosystem services, including nutrient cycling,
more effective than kaolinite and finely ground quartz. pathogen suppression, stabilization of soil aggregates,
Furthermore, surfaces of mineral colloids can absorb and degradation of xenobiotics. Soil microbial biomass,
other toxic substances to microorganisms such as activity, and community structure have been shown to
antibiotics and pesticides. respond to agricultural management practices. Alter-
Although soil organic matter can be partitioned nation to no tillage or increased cropping intensity
conveniently into different fractions, these do not increases microbial biomass C (MBC) in response to
represent static end products. Instead, the amounts increase nutrient reserves and improved soil structure
present reflect a dynamic equilibrium. The total amount and water retention (Biederbeck et al., 2005).
and partitioning of organic matter in the soil is influenced
by soil properties and by the quantity of annual inputs of
plant and animal residues to the ecosystem. For EFFECTS OF TILLAGE ON SOIL AND PLANT TRAITS
example, in a given soil ecosystem, the rate of
decomposition and accumulation of soil organic matter is Tillage is one of the major practices that reduce the
determined by such soil properties as texture, pH, organic matter level in the soil. Based on soil carbon
temperature, moisture, aeration, clay mineralogy and soil losses with intensive agriculture, reversing the decrea-
biological activities (Bot and Benites, 2005). A sing soil carbon trend with less tillage intensity benefits a
complication is that soil organic matter in turn influences sustainable agriculture and the global population by
or modifies many of these same soil properties. Organic gaining better control of the global carbon balance. Field
matter existing on the soil surface as raw plant residues operation management, especially selecting and using
helps protect the soil from the effect of rainfall, wind and tillage equipment, should be directed toward developing
sun. Removal, incorporation or burning of residues and maintaining an optimal proportion of soil components
exposes the soil to negative climatic impacts, and (water, air, organic matter and mineral components) for
removal or burning deprives the soil organisms of their productive and sustainable agriculture. Tillage can either
primary energy source. Organic matter within the soil create or help to alleviate soil compaction. Tillage
serves several functions. From a practical agricultural methods have significant effects on soil properties.
standpoint, it is important for two main reasons: (i) as a Results of Mohammadi (2011) indicated statistically
“revolving nutrient fund”; and (ii) as an agent to improve significant (p<0.05) differences in the enzyme activity in
soil structure, maintain tilt and minimize erosion. As a the soil between various methods of tillage. However,
revolving nutrient fund, organic matter serves two main dehydrogenase activity was not affected by tillage
functions: (1) as soil organic matter is derived mainly methods. The activity of acid, alkaline phosphatase and
from plant residues, it contains all of the essential plant protease tended to be higher in the no tillage treatment
nutrients. Therefore, accumulated organic matter is a compared to the minimum tillage and conventional tillage
storehouse of plant nutrients; (2) The stable organic treatments. Moreover, activity of urease and dehydro-
fraction (humus) adsorbs and holds nutrients in a plant genase were similar in no tillage and minimum tillage
available form. treatments (Figure 1). Findings of Jin et al. (2009) has
Organic matter releases nutrients in a plant-available already suggested the positive effects of conservation
form upon decomposition. In order to maintain this tillage practices on soil enzyme activities. The generally
nutrient cycling system, the rate of organic matter higher enzyme activities in no tillage mainly resulted from
addition from crop residues, manure and any other the larger water availability in the plots rather than the
sources must equal the rate of decomposition, and take better soil fertilities.
into account the rate of uptake by plants and losses by Moreover, porosity, bulk density and water retention
leaching and erosion (Bot and Benites, 2005). characteristics are physical properties characterizing soil
Fertilization is also one of the soil and crop structure and compaction phenomena. Findings of
management practices, which exert a great influence on Mohammadi et al. (2010) showed that tillage systems
soil quality (Chander et al., 1998). Farm-yard manure and had significant effects on soil bulk density (P<0.05).
compost are organic sources of nutrients that have been Minimum soil bulk density was observed under con-
shown to increase soil organic matter and enhance soil ventional tillage in 0 to 10 cm depth (Table 1). Conven-
quality. It is well known that organic amendments, such tional tillage practices increase soil pore spaces and
as plant residues, farm-yard manures and composts have decrease soil bulk density through clod forming and
a number of benefits in soil physical and chemical topsoil inverting, which are in agreement with Azim-zade
properties. Many reports have also revealed different et al. (2002). Tripathi et al. (2007) also demonstrated
19842 Afr. J. Biotechnol.

Figure 1. Effect of tillage practices on MBC (A), protease (B), acid phosphatase (C), alkaline phosphatase (D), urease (E), and dehydrogenase
(F) activity in soil (Mohammadi, 2011).
 Mohammadi et al. 19843

Table 1. Effect of tillage methods on wheat traits and soil bulk density (means of two years).

3
Grain yield 1000-seed spikes seeds spikelet spike length Bulk density (g/m )
Treatment
(kg/ha) weight (g) per m2 per spike per spike (cm) 0 - 10 cm 10 - 20 cm 20 - 30 cm
Tillage
Moldboard 1536.7b 42.34b 221.9b 12.22b 9.65b 6.19b 0.83b 0.96c 1.08b
a a a a a a a a a
Chisel 1841.8 43.71 228.6 25.25 10.53 7.35 1.12 1.28 1.30
c b b c b c b a a
No tillage 1388.7 41.15 217.4 17.18 9.06 5.63 0.87 1.18 1.28
Mean values in each column with the same letter(s) are not significantly different using Duncan tests at 5% of probability (Mohammadi et al. 2010).

minimum soil bulk density under conventional tillage residue. Tarkalsona et al. (2006) reported that application
system. Soil bulk density is increased at lower depths. At of no tillage system in a long term period led to indicative
10 to 30 cm from surface layer, there was no significant improvement in wheat productivity in comparison with
difference between no-tillage system and chisel plowing conventional tillage system. No tillage system needs
with respect to soil bulk density. Under no tillage system, specific planting tools that cannot be found easily in
only surface layer is disturbed by planter and deeper undeveloped countries, therefore using chisel plow is
layers are not disturbed but are expressively compacted more favored by farmers.
by agricultural machinery traffic, resulting in significant In addition, the findings of Mohammadi et al. (2010)
elevation in soil bulk density. showed that no tillage system increased MBC compared
Findings of Mohammadi et al. (2010) showed that to other tillage systems. Conventional tillage decreases
tillage methods significantly affected 1000-seed weight. soil organic matter and soil structure, and it is due to
Mean comparisons indicated that through chisel plow, decreased soil microbial communities. Madejon et al.
1000-seed weight and seed number were increased by 6 (2007) observed that conservation tillage increased MBC
and 22% respectively, as compared with conventional and microbial activities. Along with microbial biomass
tillage system. Number of spikelet per spike and spike changes, one might also expect shifts in microbial
length were significantly increased by chisel application community structure to occur due to the temporal
(Table 1). Halvorson et al. (2002) showed that 1000-seed increase in microbial niche, water retention or reduced
weight was lower under no tillage system compared to physical disturbance with no-tillage. Conservation and
minimum tillage. Singer et al. (2004) resulted that tillage reduced tillage have many benefits on reducing the cost
methods affected yield components of corn, soybean and of production; reduces fuel consumption, reduces
wheat. They showed that the number of spikes per m2 machinery wear, optimizes soil moisture, and reduces
and seeds per spike were decreased through converting overall production costs (NMSU reports that irrigated
minimum tillage to no tillage system. Lithourgidis et al. wheat yields in Clovis are comparable between conven-
(2006) indicated that the number of spikes per m2 was tional and conservation tillage, but production costs for
not significantly affected by tillage methods. Applying conservation tillage were lower by as much as $50 per
conventional tillage system caused a reduction of 12% in hectare) which are the most important reduced tillage in
grain yield as compared with chisel plowing (Mohammadi agro-ecosystems.
et al., 2010). Since conventional tillage system caused
soil moisture reduction, therefore this tillage system is not
recommended under dry framing conditions. EFFECTS OF ORGANIC FERTILIZATION ON SOIL
It has been observed that increasing cone index and AND PLANT TRAITS
soil compaction are the main reasons of yield reduction.
Soil compaction leads to restriction of root growth. Manure management, the focus of this section, is the use
Consequently, water and nutrient uptake by roots will be of animal manures in a way that is appropriate to the
confused and diminished. Schillinger (2005) demon- capabilities and goals of the farm firm while enhancing
strated that using no tillage system caused lower soil and water quality, crop nutrition and farm profits.
production of wheat, barley and oat in comparison with While it is possible to provide a general definition for
conventional tillage system. Main reasons cited for lower manure management, the same cannot be said of the
yields under no-till system are reductions in plant density farms with this responsibility. The role of manure within a
(Hemmat, 1996), increased weed infestation (Peltzer et farm situation is diverse in form and occurrence in that
al., 2009) and soil physical properties that limit crop the farms that generate manure vary from feedlots, dairy
growth (Haj Abbasi and Hemmat, 2000). The most and beef farms, horse operations and poultry operations
probable cause of erratic stand establishment for no-till to open-range ranches. The form, nutrient content, and
wheat treatment was poor soil-seed contact associated handling procedures associated with animal manure in
with the use of the drill for seeding into a layer of crop these situations vary dramatically. The agronomic
19844 Afr. J. Biotechnol.

Table 2. Effect of fertilization methods on MBC and soil enzyme activity (Mohammadi, 2011).

Treatment MBC (µg) Protease (µg) Acid phosphatase (µg) Alkaline phosphatase (µg) Urease (µg) Dehydrogenase (µg)
Basal fertilizer
FYM (N1) 278.4c 86.5c 167.4b 2987.3b 49.6a 60.1b
Compost (N2) 312.6c 94.6bc 169.2b 3001.4b 44.4b 62.9ab
Chemical fertilizer (N3) 196.3d 87.1c 158.1c 2678.6c 28.8c 21.2d
FYM + Compost (N4) 409.5b 110.3a 226.6a 3314.4a 49.8a 63.8a
FYM + Compost + Chemical (N5) 691.2a 96.2b 169.2b 2879.1bc 29.4c 53.7c
e d d c c d
Control (N6) 89.3 73.1 41.8 2658.7 27.9 20.8
Mean values in each column with the same letter(s) are not significantly different using LSD tests at 5% of probability (Mohammadi et al. 2011).

and environmental context in which this manure is aggregation, increased saturated hydraulic con- enzyme activities is probably a combined effect of
introduced also varies in terms of assimilative ductivity, reduced mechanical resistance and bulk a higher degree of stabilization of enzymes to
capacity and vulnerability to degradation. The density, and enhanced root proliferation of humic substances and an increase in microbial
results of Mohammadi (2011) indicated statis- soybean. biomass with increased soil carbon concentration.
tically significant (p<0.05) difference in the level of Furthermore, the findings of Mohammadi (2011) Compost application increased dehydrogenase
MBC in the soil between various methods of showed that the activities of soil enzymes were activity. Stronger dehydrogenase activity in com-
fertilization. The addition of compost or farm-yard generally higher in the organic fertilizers treat- post applied plots may be due to higher organic
manure (FYM), significantly (p<0.05) increased ments than in the unfertilized and chemical matter content.
the soil MBC in comparison to the chemical fertilizer treatments (Table 2). He found that the Findings of Toyota and Kuninaga (2006) also
fertilizer and the control. Higher levels of MBC in dehydrogenase, phosphatase and urease clearly demonstrated that a different soil microbial
compost treated soil could be due to greater activities in the chemical fertilizers treatment were community was established after the repeated
amounts of biogenic materials like mineralizable significantly lower than in the FYM and compost applications of chemical fertilizers and farm-yard
nitrogen, water soluble carbon and carbohydrates. treatments. Alkaline and acid phosphatase manure compared with the single application of
Integrated use of chemical fertilizers and organic generally increased with compost application. chemical fertilizers. Application of compost
fertilizers brings in more MBC in soil compared to Increased phosphatase activity could be respon- caused a significant increase in dehydrogenase
their single application of them (Table 2). Similar sible for hydrolysis of organically bound activity (Mohammadi, 2011). The higher organic
observations were recorded by Leita et al. (1999). phosphate into free ions, which were taken up by matter levels in the compost treatments may
Fertilizers may meet up the demand of mineral plants. Tarafdar and Marschner (1994) reported provide a more favorable environment for the
nutrition required by the microbes, but not that of that plants can utilize organic P fractions from the accumulation of enzymes in the soil matrix, since
carbon, which is a major component of microbial soil by phosphatase activity enriched in the soil– soil organic constituents are thought to be
cells. Integrated application of organic and root interface. Application of nitrogen fertilizers important in forming stable complexes with free
inorganic materials provides a balanced supply of significantly decreased urease activity while enzymes. Soil factors, including redox potential
mineral nutrients as well as carbon. The findings addition of organic manure increased its activity. (Eh) and pH can affect the rate of enzyme
of Hati et al. (2006) showed that application of We concluded that because the nitrogen fertilizers mediated reactions by influencing the redox status
4+
farm-yard manure for three years in conjunction used in the experiments contained NH and that and ionization respectively, as well as solubility of
4+
with the recommended rate of inorganic fertilizers the reaction products of urease was NH , enzymes, substrates and cofactors. In addition,
to soybean in a soybean–mustard crop rotation microbial induction of urease activity had been some enzymes may predominate at specific p
improved soil physical conditions through better inhibited. The effect of organic amendments on levels. Application of compost and FYM caused a
 Mohammadi et al. 19845

Figure 2. Microbial biomass under conventional tillage and conservation agriculture (Balota et al., 1996.).

faster and higher reduction of soil, and at the same time losses from manure to groundwater, but few have
increased the soil pH. Report of Nayak et al. (2007) addressed the problem of excessive P accumulation. The
showed that soil pH was lowest in the inorganic fertilizers application of green manures to soil is considered a good
amended plots and highest in compost amended plots. management practice in any agricultural production
Soil dehydrogenase activity exhibited a strong negative system because it can increase cropping system sustain-
relationship with Eh and a positive relationship with Fe2+ ability by reducing soil erosion and ameliorating soil
content, suggesting aeration status is the major factor physical properties by increasing soil organic matter and
determining the activity (Mohammadi et al., 2011 b). fertility levels by increasing nutrient retention and by
Compared to cash-grain farming, agricultural production reducing global warming potential. Soil micro-organisms
systems that integrate livestock and crop production are of great importance for plant nutrition as they interact
enterprises can reduce costs of purchased inputs such as directly in the biogeochemical cycles of the nutrients.
fertilizer, reduce economic risk through diversification of Increased production of green manure or crop biomass
farm enterprises and increase economic return to rural aboveground and belowground increases the food source
communities by providing jobs in sales or meat for the microbial population in the soil. Agricultural
processing. Integrating ruminant animals and the manure production systems in which residues are left on the soil
they produce into farming systems may also decrease surface and roots left in the soil such as through direct
soil erosion and surface runoff, by increasing the seeding and the use of cover crops, therefore stimulate
potential for including forages in the crop rotation. the development and activity of soil micro-organisms (Bot
Integrated animal and crop production enterprises that and Benites, 2005). In one 19-year experiment in Brazil,
use manure as the primary nutrient source for crop such practices resulted in a 129% increase in microbial
production are not without problems. Nutrient loading on carbon biomass and a 48% increase in microbial N
a farm with an animal enterprise may exceed crop biomass (Figure 2)
nutrient needs. This can occur because the amount of Green manure application had a significant effect on
nutrients being removed in products from the diversified leaf and grain nitrogen content (Mohammadi et al.,
enterprise is often lower from livestock operations than 2011a). Incorporating vetch and barley biomass into the
from cash-grain operations. Problems with nutrient soil before chickpea cultivation, increased leaf and grain
loading may be exacerbated by timing of manure nutrient nitrogen contents by 18 and 7%, respectively. Nitrogen
availability, which is often not synchronized with potential fixation by vetch increasing soil organic matter, and
crop utilization. optimizing conditions for Rhizobium bacteria are the main
Numerous studies have focused on optimizing the use reasons for increased nitrogen uptake. Soil micro-
of animal manure to supply crop N needs and on N organisms degrade organic matter through the production
19846 Afr. J. Biotechnol.

of diverse extracellular enzymes and for this reason after ORGANIC MATTER
the application of green manures to soil, soil enzymatic
activities increased. These results are in agreement with Soil organic matter consists of living parts of plants
those of Kautz et al. (2004) who found an increase in (principally roots), dead forms of organic material
enzymatic activities after the addition of different green (principally dead plant parts), and soil organisms (micro-
manures to soil. Soil enzymes act as biological catalysts organisms and soil animals) in various stages of
of specific reactions that depend on a variety of factors, decomposition. It has great impact upon the chemical,
such as the presence or absence of inhibitors, physical and biological properties of the soil. Soil organic
amendment type, crop type, etc. and can be considered matter is any material produced originally by living
as early indicators of biological changes. The organisms (plant or animal) that is returned to the soil
incorporation of organic amendments to soil influences and goes through the decomposition process. At any
soil enzymatic activities because the added material may given time, it consists of a range of materials from the
contain intra- and extracellular enzymes and may also intact original tissues of plants and animals to the
stimulate microbial activity in the soil. Dehydrogenase substantially decomposed mixture of materials known as
activity has been proposed as a measure of overall humus (Figure 3).
microbial activity (Masciandaro et al., 2001), since it is an Total soil organic matter content is the soil property
intracellular enzyme related to oxidative phosphorylation most closely associated with soil structure stability. Soil
processes. Garcia et al. (1993) found that dehydro- organic matter accumulates over the long term to a
genase activity is a good index of the soil microbial steady-state level, which is determined by the amount of
biomass in semiarid Mediterranean areas. The greater biological contributions over time, soil water content and
dehydrogenase activity observed at the high dose of temperature (regulating decomposition) and other factors
green manures suggests that these did not include toxic such as texture. As primary producers in terrestrial
compounds to microorganisms. ecosystems, plants ultimately can be credited with nearly
However, under field conditions, the decomposition of all of the organic matter added to soil. Direct contributions
green manures is complex, and is controlled by nume- occur from seasonal shedding of leaves and roots and
rous factors such as availability of carbon and nitrogen, root exudates as well as the whole plant upon death. The
the biochemical nature of the plant residue, contact organic compounds added and the microbial activity and
between soil, compost and soil and climatic factors, etc. products that result greatly enhance soil structure and
According to Tejada and Gonzalez (2006), the carbon to improve structural stability. Qualitative differences in soil
nitrogen (C/N) ratio of the organic wastes will largely organic matter and the mechanisms of stabilization
determine the balance between mineralization and involved may account for unexplained differences in
immobilization. The C/N ratio was the best predicting aggregate stability associated with plant species. Often
parameter for the potential amount of N that can much of the short-term increase in organic carbon has
mineralize from a crop residue. In this respect, been found in the sand-size fraction, which includes frag-
Maiksteniene and Arlauskiene (2004) found a higher ments of plant tissue (Wilkinson, 2000). Living organisms
mineralization of clover and lucerne green manures after are made up of thousands of different compounds. Thus,
the application of soil (C/N ratio 12 and 10, respectively) when organisms die, there are thousands of compounds
vetch and oat mixture (C/N ratio 31) and straw wheat in the soil to be decomposed. As these compounds
(C/N ratio 55). For this reason, the increase in the soil decompose, the organic matter in soil is gradually
microbial biomass- C as well as in the soil enzymatic transformed until it is no longer recognizable as part of
activities was very different depending on the type of the original plant. Micro-organisms can access N in the
green manure applied to the soil. This difference in the soil more easily than plants. This means that where there
C/N ratio of the different green manures is manifested in is not enough N for all the soil organisms, the plants will
the different evolution of the soil C/N ratio. As a result, probably be N deficient. When soils are low in organic
the mineralization of the organic matter applied to the soil matter content, application of organic matter will increase
will be carried out under good conditions of the the amount of N (and other nutrients) available to plants
mineralization versus the immobilization processes; through enhanced microbial activity.
aspect that is manifested in the highest values in soil Hydrophobic coatings (presumably waxes from plant
microbial biomass and the soil enzymatic activities. roots or associated microorganisms) can cause water
The results of Blaise et al. (2005) indicate that it is repellency of sand-textured aggregates and lead to the
advantageous to apply FYM as it improves fiber yield by development of localized dry-spot formation in turf. Water
way of improved ginning outturn. Improvement in unifor- repellency can reduce the rate of clay-aggregate wetting
mity ratio with the application of FYM results in better and therefore increase aggregate stability and contribute
fiber quality. Furthermore, FYM also supplies nutrients to development of preferential flow paths of water
and maintains a healthy positive nutrient balance besides infiltration. Grassland soil aggregates exhibit greater
being a source of soil organic matter further emphasizing potential water repellency than aggregates of arable
the need for integrated and balanced nutrient manage- (maize) land. The grassland vs. cultivated comparison,
ment in cotton in the non-irrigated vertisols of India. then, may reflect breakage of hydrophobic coatings
 Mohammadi et al. 19847

Figure 3. Components of soil organic matter and their functions (Bot and Benites, 2005).

(exposing uncoated soil) and/or microbial oxidation of the types of the clay and other minerals available to form
coatings in the cultivated land. Another possibility is a stable organo-mineral compounds,
species difference in deposition of hydrophobic coatings (3) The rate of mineralization through biological oxidation
on soil particles. Strong correlations occur between soil which is, in turn, determined by a suite of hierarchically-
carbohydrate content, or some fraction thereof, and soil organized factors, namely, climate, certain soil properties
structural indices (Wilkinson, 2000). Periodate-sensitive (clay type and amount, pH) and biological activities
materials (polysaccharide and/or polyuronides) have (especially of the larger organisms).
been shown to be stabilizing agents for aggregates in Most soils will benefit from the addition of organic matter,
many cases as well as pyrophosphate sensitive materials except those rare soils that are already high in organic
probably bound to minerals by polyvalent cations. matter such as peaty soils. Soils with good levels of
Carbohydrates have been found to constitute 8 to 16% of organic matter are generally easily worked (they have a
soil organic matter in some virgin soils, the amount good ‘tilth’). If you squeeze a handful of soil into a ball in
generally increasing with clay content. Soil in agricultural your hand and it remains in a hard lump, then it has a
land use generally contains greater carbohydrate content poor tilth and hard clods will result when it is ploughed. If
than fallow and species variability is evident. Some of the it crumbles, then it is well granulated; organic matter
soil carbohydrate is contributed by structural components promotes granulation. Cultivated soils with good tilth are
of plants (cellulose), but soil also gain carbohydrates in less subject to wind and water erosion. Organic matter
the form of soluble compounds released from plant roots will improve the soil by:
(Wilkinson, 2000). (1) Helping to improve soil structure; this will also improve
Organic matter accumulation in soils depends on three water penetration and drainage, as well as improving
processes: aeration. Adding organic matter is particularly valuable for
poorly structured clay soils by adding the valuable
(1) Plant production, which provides most of the inputs, nutrients to the soil.
(2) The capacity of soil to stabilize and store organic (2) Helping to retain moisture in well drained soils (sandy
matter, which depends on soil depth, the amount and soil); every percentage point of soil organic matter is
19848 Afr. J. Biotechnol.

considered capable of holding the equivalent of 25 mm of processes. Only carefully selected diversified cropping
rainfall. systems or well-managed mixed crop-livestock systems
(3) Acting as a buffer against sudden temperature or are able to maintain a balance in nutrient and organic
chemical changes, which may affect plant growth. matter supply and removal.
(4) Encouraging the activity of beneficial soil organisms
such as earthworms.
It may be difficult to increase the percentage of organic CONCLUSION
matter in a soil, but it is important to try to maintain that This manuscript provides information on soil microbial
percentage. The average mineral soil contains around 2 biomass and activities as influenced by fertilization and
to 5% organic matter. Organic content will drop if you tillage in plant production. Microbial biomass and soil
remove plants from a soil and do not return organic enzyme activity is sensitive in discriminating between
material to the soil. Organic matter can be added in the organic fertilizers and inorganic fertilizer application on a
following ways (Mason, 2003): short-term basis. Soil microbial biomass and enzymatic
properties were also closely related with the C inputs.
(1) Cultivate the roots of crop plants back into the soil Consistent distinctions in enzyme activities were ob-
when the plant has grown and add compost regularly served between different tillage practices. These diffe-
(2) Apply organic mulches regularly to the surface of the rences were most pronounced between no tillage on the
soil one hand and conventional and reduced tillage on the
(3) Feed plants with manure (preferably well rotted) and other hand. The grain yield was impacted by soil fertility
other organic fertilizers. amendments and tillage methods. Organic manure
The cover crop is then ploughed in, replenishing the increased yield by altering soil physical properties,
lost organic content from the previous season. Nutrients increasing soil fertility, increasing beneficial microbial
can be added to soil by digging in kitchen scraps, animal populations and activity. The application of green
manures, cover crops, natural minerals such as rock manures to the soil produced an improvement in the soil
dusts, and synthetic chemical fertilizers. Nutrients are biological properties as well as in the nutrition, production
also obtained from irrigation water, rainfall, from the and quality of the obtained maize. Nevertheless, these
atmosphere (micro organisms converting atmospheric improvements depend on the chemical composition of
nitrogen) and from the natural weathering of rock and soil the green manures applied to the soil. The difference in
itself. The source is unimportant to the plant; nitrogen the C/N ratio of the different green manures is manifested
from animal manure is exactly the same as nitrogen from in the different evolution of the soil biological properties
sulfate of ammonia, and phosphorus from rock dusts is and yield. Nutrient exchanges between organic matter,
exactly the same as phosphorus from superphosphate. water and soil are essential to soil fertility and need to be
The choice of which source of nutrients to use should maintained for sustainable production purposes. Where
depend on the effect that it will have on the soil. Artificial the soil is exploited for crop production without restoring
fertilizers are easier to apply and manage than animal the organic matter and nutrient contents and maintaining
manures and organic fertilizers, but can create major soil a good structure, the nutrient cycles are broken, soil
problems, in particular soil acidification. These fertilizers fertility declines and the balance in the agro-ecosystem is
release nutrients quickly so nutrients are easily washed destroyed. There are four principal issues which need to
through the soil where they can pollute rivers and creeks. be addressed in future. These are as follows:
Organic fertilizers generally don’t cause these problems, (1) Residues management concerning recycling and
and have the added advantage of improving soil environmental protection.
structure, and promoting beneficial soil life. As such, they (2) Soil organic matter management in different cropping
represent a favorable option for proponents of areas for improving soil health.
sustainable agriculture (Mason, 2003). (3) Integrated nutrient management (inorganic, organic
Conservation agriculture encompasses a range of such and bio-fertilizer) for sustenance of soil fertility and
good practices through combining no tillage or minimum (4) Conservation tillage methods in sloped and marginal
tillage with a protective crop cover and crop rotations. It areas.
maintains surface residues, roots and soil organic matter,
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