Transcript Life in the Soil

Life in the Soil
Is the soil Alive?
Life in the Soil
• ¼ teaspoon of fertile soil contains
–50 nematodes
–52,000 algae
–72000 amoebae
–111,000 fungi
–2,920,000 actinomycetes
–25,280,000 bacteria
Carbon Cycle
• A. All living things depend on
photosynthesis
• B. Two events occur during
photosynthesis
–1. CO2 in the air is changed to
Organic Carbon which is
building block of living tissue
Carbon Cycle
• B.
–2. Photosynthesis converts
sunlight energy to chemical
energy stored in simple sugar
Carbon Cycle
• C. Plants and Animals burn the
sugar during respiration to
reclaim energy. Higher animals
use energy to keep warm, grow
or be active
• D. Chlorophyll-containing
plants carry on photosynthesis
Carbon Cycle
• E. Plants are primary Producers
–Animals that eat plants are
Primary consumers
–Animals of prey are secondary
consumers
–= food chain
Carbon Cycle
• F. If the chain were only
Producers and consumers the
chain would collapse
Carbon Cycle
• G. Decomposers
–-Microorganisms that decompose
dead plants and animals. Diromg
decay the carbon is changed back
to CO2 and materials that resist
decay = humus
Microorganisms
• A. Bacteria
–Simple one celled organisms
–Mainly feed on dead organic
matter
Microorganisms
• B. Fungi
–Resemble a mass of tangled
threads called mycellium
–Mushrooms are these but
many are only seen with a
microscope
Microorganisms
• C. Actinomycetes
–Mold bacteria
–12 million found in 1
teaspoon
–Many medicines are
developed from these
Microorganisms
• D. Algae
–Soil algae are single celled
–Have to be around water
–Can photosynthesize