Living Soils and Growing Healthy Root Systems
More information about Living Soils is available on: http://www.communityipm.org/docs/Living Soils/living soils.html http://ileia.leisa.info/index.php?url=magazine-details.tpl&p%5B_id%5D=209091 http://www.communityipm.org/docs/Tea_Eco-Guide/03_soil.pdf http://www.sare.org/publications/bsbc/chap3.htm http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010117attrasoilmanual/010117attra.html http://www.soilhealth.see.uwa.edu.au/index http://attra.ncat.org/soils.html http://soils.usda.gov/SQI/concepts/soil_biology/biology.html
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The soil is a complex community of living organisms. Most living organisms (nematodes, arthropods, bacteria, fungi, protozoa) in the soil are too small to be seen directly. There are, however, bigger organisms like earthworms. The interaction of these creatures is essential in providing food for plants and animals. A healthy soil ecosystem will have a more diverse and higher number of species of organisms compared with one that is not healthy. These organisms carry out processes such as nutrient recycling and retention, decompose plant residues, formation of humus, suppress diseases, and improve the soil structure. Maintaining a balanced and healthy soil system is important to its functioning, which, in turn, is important to a healthy and productive life of plants, animals and humans. 
