In paying
attention to the important effects of organic matter on soil phenomena, it
should first be mentioned and examine that soil formation is closely linked
with the action of diverse forms of organic substances on the parent rock.
The importance
of organic matter in the soil is implicit in the definition of soil which
recognizes fertility as the unique and constant feature which distinguishes
soil from the parent rock. Soil is the simultaneous and complete provision of all
the plant requirements in water as well as nutrients.
In the
production of a fertile soil, organic substances play a direct and important part
as they are the sources of plant nutrients which are liberated in available
forms during stages of mineralization. The supplies of nutrients and water for
the plant are most readily provided in soil of good structure in which the
antagonism between nutrient elements is eliminated. In the building of soil of a
good structure, organic substances represent the most important factors.
Apart from
being the source of nutrients for the plant and the most important factor in the
structure formation, organic matter has also a holding capacity and to a large
extent determines the degree such physio-chemical properties. These properties
are of great importance not only in controlling the uptake of nutrients by the
plant and their retention in the soil but also in suppressing the deleterious
effect of the soil acidity.
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