mighty microbes
Bacteria help make nitrogen available to plants. Through
the decomposition process, specialized bacteria have the
ability to change the amino acids found in the organic
material into ammonia in a process termed ammonification.
Plants can take in nitrogen from ammonia in the form of
ammonium nitrogen. Other specialized bacteria can convert
the ammonia to nitrite, which in turn is oxidized by nitriteoxidizing bacteria, finally converting it into the nitrate form
of nitrogen, a form that is also readily taken in by a plant’s
roots. This transformation is collectively referred to as part
of the nitrogen cycle, in which bacteria play a crucial role.
Bacteria are found in larger numbers than fungi in gardens
or fields that are tilled on a regular basis
because fungi are much more delicate and need more time
in undisturbed soil to grow
and populate.
Fungi
Like bacteria, fungi play an important role in the decomposition of organic matter and the recycling of nutrients in the
soil food web. Though larger in size than bacteria, fungi are
still microscopic cells, but they grow in long, hair-like structures called hyphae that join together and form m