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Introduction: Soils and Their Promotion of Plant Growth

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Interactions in Soil: Promoting Plant Growth

Part of the book series: Biodiversity, Community and Ecosystems ((BECO,volume 1))

Abstract

Soil is a complex milieu of physical and biological entities that regulates the availability of nutrients for plant growth. The interactions between the elements of the soil biota and the plants during this process are complex and often rely on feedbacks between the plants and the great diversity of soil organisms that function to regulate processes to support plant growth. The rhizosphere and its mycorrhizal component are important parts of the connection between the plant and soil through its roots. This zone is a ‘hot-spot’ of microbial activity and trophic interactions with other soil organisms. It is here that growth of the plant root is influenced by nutrient availability, induction of root growth stimulating auxins, the interaction with plant pathogens and herbivores. Ecosystem engineers in the form of earthworms and other burrowing fauna are important in altering both the physical structure of soil and rates of decomposition of organic residues. A little researched component of soil is viruses. Their interaction with microbial and faunal communities is introduced here. Many of the soil processes influencing plant growth and the diversity of soil organisms is influenced by human activities ranging from agricultural and forestry practices through urbanization to the influence of pollution from industrial processes. To help us with the understanding of the interactions between biodiversity and function, new molecular tools involving metagenomics and transcriptomics are evolving, and are discussed here as an emerging suite of tools that can be applied to soil ecology. The chapter introduces the detail to come in subsequent chapters of this book.

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  1. Pinelands Field Station, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 206, 501 Four Mile Road, New Lisbon, NJ, 08064, USA

    John Dighton

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  1. The State University of New Jersey, Pinelands Field Station, Rutgers, New Lisbon, New Jersey, USA

    John Dighton

  2. Dept. of Biology and Molecular Biology, Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey, USA

    Jennifer Adams Krumins

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Dighton, J. (2014). Introduction: Soils and Their Promotion of Plant Growth. In: Dighton, J., Krumins, J. (eds) Interactions in Soil: Promoting Plant Growth. Biodiversity, Community and Ecosystems, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8890-8_1

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