soil organic matter
Earth's carbon reservoir
Soil organic matter is the carbon-rich component of soil derived from decomposed plant and animal material, microorganisms, and their byproducts.
It serves as the foundation of soil fertility, improving structure, water retention, and nutrient availability for plants.
Farmers and gardeners work to increase soil organic matter through composting, cover cropping, and reducing tillage.
The soil organic matter content in that field has improved dramatically since they stopped tilling.
- humusDecayed organic soil matter
- black goldSlang for petroleum
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- compost pileDecomposing organic material collection
- ligninStructural plant polymer
water infiltration · mineralization · polysaccharides · leaching · carbon sequestration · carbon sink · cellulose · agricultural practices · nitrogen fixation · food web · earthworms · worm castings · detritus · erosion control · leaf litter · mycorrhizae · aggregates · amino acids
- Soilsoil, topsoil, subsoil, dirt, loam
- decompositiondecomposition, rot, rotting, autolysis, putrefaction
- soil sciencesoil, topsoil, subsoil, clay, sand
- soil biologysoil bacteria, soil fungi, soil organisms, decomposers, mycorrhizae
- Soil Organicshumus, compost, peat, detritus, leaf litter
- sulfursulfur dioxide, sulfuric acid, sulfate, sulfates, sulfide