Soil is a unique habitat which harbours a variety of microflora and fauna, and gives mechanical and nutritional support to higher plants on which human civilization is based. Structural components of soil and its major constituents determine soil quality. Soil is as important as water and air. Human life could not be sustained with access to soil, because it is [...]
Microorganisms which live in soil are algae, bacteria, actinomycetes, bacteriophages, protozoa, nematodes and fungi (Fig. 30.2). A brief description of soil microorganisms has been given below: 1. Soil Algae: Soil algae (both prokaryotes and eukaryotes) luxuriantly grow where adequate amount of moisture and light are present. They play a variety of roles in soil. One of the important role of [...]
The organic constituents of plant that give structural topography generally contain six broad groups of constituents as given below: (i) Cellulose: Cellulose is the most abundant chemical constituent of a cell. It is a carbohydrate composed of glucose units linked by P-linkages at 1 and 4 carbon atoms of sugars. Total number of glucose units varies from 2000 to 10,000. [...]