soil microbiome

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

the vast and complex community of microorganisms — bacteria, fungi, archaea, viruses, and protozoa — living in soil, whose collective metabolic activities are essential to soil fertility, plant nutrition, decomposition of organic matter, nitrogen cycling, carbon storage, and the suppression of plant diseases; a single teaspoon of healthy agricultural soil may contain more microorganisms than there are people on Earth, representing a genetic and metabolic diversity that science is only beginning to characterise through metagenomic sequencing; the health and diversity of the soil microbiome is a key indicator of soil quality and agricultural sustainability, and practices including no-till farming, reduced pesticide use, cover cropping, and the addition of compost are associated with healthier and more diverse soil microbial communities