Abstract

Micronutrients are trace elements which are needed by plants, animals and humans as well as microorganisms for healthy growth. The total amount and bioavailability of micronutrients is highly related to the composition as well as stability of major groups of rocks and minerals present in the soil, and can be released through various weathering mechanisms, among which bioweathering (mediated by soil microorganisms) has an important role. Meanwhile, microorganisms can also be influenced by the soil mineralogy. There is evidence that rocks and minerals with different composition support different microbial communities. It is, therefore, of interest to investigate to what extent the soil microbial communities are correlated with the mineral composition in terms of micronutrient content of soils, with focus on agriculturally important groups e.g. rhizobia and AM fungi. This objective will be achieved by setting up pot experiments with soils different in micronutrient content, amended with basaltic rockdust, and by a landscape study of soils with widely differing mineralogy

Keywords

Bioweathering; microbial community composition; rockdust; trace elements

Published in

Book title: Proceedings of the 19th World Congress of Soil Science: Soil solutions for a changing world, Brisbane, Australia, 1-6 August 2010. Congress Symposium 5: Micronutrients in soils and plants in relation to crop and human health
Publisher: International Union of Soil Sciences

Conference

19th World Congress of Soil Science: Soil solutions for a changing world

Authors' information