Back بيولوجيا التربة Arabic মৃত্তিকা জীববিজ্ঞান Bengali/Bangla Jordbundsbiologi Danish Mullabioloogia Estonian زیستشناسی خاک Persian Maaperäbiologia Finnish Biologie des sols French Biologi tanah ID 土壌生物 Japanese മണ്ണുജീവശാസ്ത്രം Malayalam
Soil biology is the study of microbial and faunal activity and ecology in soil. Soil life, soil biota, soil fauna, or edaphon is a collective term that encompasses all organisms that spend a significant portion of their life cycle within a soil profile, or at the soil-litter interface. These organisms include earthworms, nematodes, protozoa, fungi, bacteria, different arthropods, as well as some reptiles (such as snakes), and species of burrowing mammals like gophers, moles and prairie dogs. Soil biology plays a vital role in determining many soil characteristics. The decomposition of organic matter by soil organisms has an immense influence on soil fertility, plant growth, soil structure, and carbon storage. As a relatively new science, much remains unknown about soil biology and its effect on soil ecosystems.