Often in the specialized literature or on the pages of Internet sites you can read about the fact that humus must be used to feed plants . What is this The question often arises for beginners in gardening. In fact, humus is called ordinary humus. It is formed as a result of the decomposition of organic substances of plant origin.
Manure of animals, bird droppings, peat, sawdust, straw, grass as a result of the life of the microorganisms that inhabit them, gradually turn into a brown homogeneous mass - humus. What is it, we hope you more or less understand. The humus contained in the soil determines the degree of its fertility. The direct dependence of the yields of different crops on the percentage of humus in the soil on which they were grown has been proved by studies of various scientific research institutes.
And even without any scientific research, any gardener knows that plants, whether vegetables, berries, fruits or flowers, need humus for better growth. The content of humus in the soil, necessary to obtain a good result, for each particular type must be calculated separately. Similar calculations are carried out both in order to find out the amount of humus introduced at a time, and in order to determine the frequency of such top dressing.
Poor soils have few structural particles and easily dissolve in water. After watering or rain, a crust forms on them, as a result of which air and water practically do not penetrate the roots of plants. Humus can correct the situation. What it is, you already know. Now consider how it affects the properties of the soil. Firstly, of course, the amount of nutrients in it multiply increases. Secondly, it becomes much more loose. After humus is introduced into poor soil, a crust after irrigation is no longer formed on it. At the same time, a sufficient amount of air and water enters the plant roots.
The humus of soil in personal plots, introduced artificially and in the required quantities, makes these lands much more fertile in the steppe and even forest. Of the uncultivated man-made soils, the chernozem soils are the richest in humus content. They are formed in the process of dying off meadow grasses and flowers, which during the growing season accumulate significant plant mass. Least of all it is found in podzolic and sandy soils.
So, from organic matter, humus is obtained. What is it, we have already figured out. Now let us consider more specifically how it is formed.
Organic matter in manure serves as food for soil microorganisms. When it is decomposed, the first stage is the release of carbon dioxide (CO2), phosphorus and nitrogen. Then the last element from organic is converted to ammonia. This process is possible due to the action of aerobic bacteria. Then ammonia nitrogen goes into nitrate.
The latter process occurs as a result of the activity of two groups of microorganisms, which in this case act as oxidizing agents. In this case, ammonia is initially converted to nitric acid, after which ammonia salts are converted to nitrates. This phase can be considered final in the decomposition of manure. At this stage, it turns into humus.