Question

Total biomass of the soil high in which microbial population

Answer 1

There are lots of papers found on soil organic matter, soil
aeration, change in soil fertility status with depth however there
still lacks the overall role of each component in soil fertility.
Soil organic matter, depth and aeration pays a great role in the
determining the soil micro flora and fauna. Organic matter and
aeration have positive correlation in building the microorganism
population where depth has the negative correlation. Also with
increasing soil depth soil aeration and organic matter decreases,
thus decrease the microorganism population. This indicates that
surface soil is rich in microorganism population since the entire
environment such as organic compound, aeration, temperature,
etc. favors the growth of microorganism and vice versa in the
deeper strata of soil. This indicates the general gradient of soil
fertility in respect to the soil depth.
At present context, in the globe the soil is being compacted
with the heavy agricultural equipment which have created
soil horizon devoid of air space. The soil density has increased
resulting in the decrease in the porosity of the soil and limiting the
microorganism growth. Similar is the case with the organic matter.
Present agricultural practice uses a chemical fertilizer limiting
use of organic matter. As a consequence the microorganisms are
deprived of food and their growth has been checked. This has
created imbalance in the soil ecosystem which have resulted in
the poor structure and less fertile soil.
Therefore to create healthy and fertile soil we must provide
the environment that favors the growth of microorganism