Humic Acid, Humates and Soil Life The Fundamentals

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Humic Acid, Humates and Soil LifeThe
Fundamentals
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Soil Taxonomy, Second Edition 

•  Soil a natural body comprised of solids
  (minerals and organic matter), liquid, and gases
  that occurs on the land surface, occupies space,
  and is characterized by one or both of the
  following horizons, or layers, that are
  distinguishable from the initial material as a
  result of additions, losses, transfers, and
  transformations of energy and matter or the
  ability to support rooted plants in a natural
  environment.

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3 Fundamentals of Soil Life

• Fundamental components to a healthy productive
  soil- Essential mineral nutrients- Beneficial
  soil micro-organisms- Organic matter in the form
  of Humus
• Add water oxygen - and the system is prepared
  to function effectively to support healthy plants

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Mineral Nutrients

• It can be argued that any soil in which we farm
  contains enough mineral nutrients to raise a crop
  when N from air is included
• Geology of the parent material provides the
  nutrients
• These nutrients, however, are not in
  plant-available forms
• Nutrients in organic forms are carbon-complexed,
  either by soil life or by humic substances

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Soil Life

• Microbes not just bacteria and fungi but also
  protozoa, nematodes, micro-arthropods etc.
  comprise the soil food web
• Microbes do the work of enhancing soil tilth and
  making nutrients available to plants in organic
  form
• The healthier and more diverse the soil food web,
  the better the system works fewer pathogens
• The less tillage the better

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Importance of Soil Life

• Because of the important contributions made by
  bacteria to the fertility level of the soil, life
  of higher plants and animals could cease if the
  functions of the bacteria were to fail AL
  Agronomy Handbook
• Microbial activity (biology) drives chemistry,
  including pH and ultimately determines fertility
  Dr. Elaine Ingham

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Importance of Soil LifePhosphorus Solubility

• In high pH soils (gt7.3) phosphorus is chemically
  tied up as calcium phosphates
• Temporary changes to pH, through acidification,
  may yield temporary solubility improvement
• The only way to permanently change the pH of the
  soil is through development of healthy, diverse
  microbial populations and their activity

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Importance of HumusNitrogen Efficiency

• Soils with 3 organic matter release up to 100
  lbs. N in a growing season
• Inorganic inputs of N are subject to at least
  15-30 loss due to leaching, especially in low
  organic matter soils
• Some estimates on loss of N to leaching are as
  high as 80

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Importance of HumusEnvironment and Stimulus of
Microbial Activity

• Soils with little to no organic matter have poor
  to absent microbial activity
• Humus provides both the substrate for a healthy
  microbial population and the stimulus for
  microbial activity
• Without humus and microbial activity, nutrient
  uptake/efficiency is poor at best