Priming (microbiology)

Priming or a "Priming Effect" is said to occur when something that is added to soil or compost affects the rate of decomposition occurring on the soil organic matter (SOM), either positively or negatively. Organic matter is made up mostly of carbon and nitrogen, so adding a substrate containing certain ratios of these nutrients to soil may affect the microbes that are mineralizing SOM. Fertilizers, plant litter, detritus, and carbohydrate exhudates from living roots, can potentially positively or negatively prime SOM decomposition.[1]

See also

References

  1. Bird, Jeffrey A.; Herman, Donald J.; Firestone, Mary K. (2011). "Rhizosphere priming of soil organic matter by bacterial groups in a grassland soil" (PDF). Soil Biology & Biochemistry. Elsevier. 43 (6): 718–725. doi:10.1016/S0038-0717(03)00123-8. Retrieved 29 May 2014.


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