What happens when organic matter decomposes in soil?

What happens when organic matter decomposes in soil?

Successive decomposition of dead material and modified organic matter results in the formation of a more complex organic matter called humus (Juma, 1998). As they break down the organic matter, any excess nutrients (N, P and S) are released into the soil in forms that plants can use.

What is the layer of decomposing leaves called?

The forest floor, also called detritus, duff and the O horizon, is one of the most distinctive features of a forest ecosystem. It mainly consists of shed vegetative parts, such as leaves, branches, bark, and stems, existing in various stages of decomposition above the soil surface.

Which layer is formed by dead organic matter?

Humus is the layer formed on soil due to the decomposition of dead plants and animals by microbes.

What causes decomposition of organic matter?

The most obvious cause of the break down of soil organic matter is a high level of biological activity: A large number of bacteria, fungi, and larger organisms feeding on the organic material in your soil for food.

How is a leaf is organic matter?

Living organisms are composed of organic compounds. In life, they secrete or excrete organic material into their environment, shed body parts such as leaves and roots and after organisms die, their bodies are broken down by bacterial and fungal action.

What is a duff layer?

The duff layer is the organic material layer between the A-horizon (or uppermost soil mineral horizon) and the litter layer. The duff layer is decomposing organic material, decomposed to the point at which there is no identifiable organic materials (pine straw, leaves, twigs, etc).

What is in soil organic matter?

Soil organic matter (SOM) is the organic component of soil, consisting of three primary parts including small (fresh) plant residues and small living soil organisms, decomposing (active) organic matter, and stable organic matter (humus).

What is a dead leaf called?

Litterfall, plant litter, leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, or duff, is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that have fallen to the ground.

What is forest understory?

The understory is the underlying layer of vegetation in a forest or wooded area, especially the trees and shrubs growing between the forest canopy and the forest floor. Plants in the understory comprise an assortment of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with specialist understory shrubs and herbs.