Soil Science

Soil Science

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Had a fascinating discussion with Dr. Mary Stromberger, Professor of Soil Microbiology, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Colorado State University. “The organisms that live in the soil do a lot of activities and functions that make soils healthy and also provide goods and services for humans. I do a lot of research in ecosystem services which are the goods and services that soils provide that benefit people. In the soil there are anywhere from 100,000,000 to 1,000,000,000 bacterial cells in just 1 teaspoon of soil and hundreds of soil faunas which are tiny invertebrates that live in the soil. We also have larger soil dwelling animals. Gopher tortoises, burrowing owls get their habitat from the soil, all kinds of animals live in the soil. I specialize in studying the microscopic organisms, the bacteria and fungi that live in the soil. They are invisible but they are the most numerous in the soil. They provide many of the functions that support humans through supporting soil fertility and therefore crop production. These organisms can degrade contaminants that are in the soil water. They purify the water and provide us with clean water.
Previous ReportWild Horses
Next ReportCholesterol Bread