[compost_tea] numbers

From: Anthony Quinlan <boofq_at_wn.com.au>
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2004 12:05:37 +0800
Elaine
While we're on the numbers talk
can you give us a broad answer to how many individuals there are in say a
soil sample.
SFI tests give micrograms per gram of soil but how does that convert to
numbers (individuals).
What would be the numbers of individuals of Bac: Fung: Prot & Nem in:
A: a healthy soil that has seen lots of compost/tea and no poisons and,
B: a unhealthy soil under a chemical regime.
Many statements fly around saying "there are 4 billion microbes in a
spoonfull of soil" etc
could you set the record straight!
thanks in advance
AQ
----- Original Message -----
From: <soilfoodweb_at_aol.com>
To: <compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 11, 2004 11:54 AM
Subject: Re: [compost_tea] Re: Re: RE: Aerators


> I've been teaching a compost tea class the last two days, and so haven't
been on-line much.  I am not sure I caught the beginning of this thread.
>
> But, I'll wade in with my usual, ah, aplomb..... GRIN!
>
> Active bacteria (AB), total bacteria (TB), active fungi (AF) and Total
fungi (TF) are measured by measuring length and width of these organisms in
the soil, compost, water or tea you send in.  That gives you bio-volume.  We
have measured the density of bacteria and fungi in soil for many years, and
thus use the typical conversion for soil organisms to convert to biomass.
>
> Comparing numbers of bacteria with numbers of fungi is nonsensical.  The
largest organism on this planet is a fungus, and there are competitions
going on for who actually has the largest individual fungus.  So, comparing
bacteria, which are amoung the smallest organisms on the planet, with
individual numbers of fungi is just silly.
>
> Comparing biomass makes much more sense, because you take into account the
mass of the organisms - you compare mass, not numbers of individuals.
>
> So, the values come as microgram per milliliter, if you are dealing with
liquids, or micrograms per gram if you deal with solids.
>
> We also report HD, which is hyphal diameter.  The actual average width of
the hyphae, which is an indicator of whether you have mostly "good guy"
fungi, or typical fungi, or bad guy fungi.  A generalization, yes, but most
people like to have some idea of good, bad, ok, and here's a general
indication.  If the diameter in less than 2 micrometers, you have mostly
not-so-good guys.  2 to 3 micrometers, the community of fungi is in the
normal range - some good, some bad.  3 or above - life is good, pat yourself
on the back, you have mostly the good guys.
>
> Protozoa are reported in numbers of individuals per gram or milliliter.
Three groups - flagellates (F), amoebae (A) and ciliates (C).  Flagellates
and amoebae in soil are almost strictly aerobes, while ciliates prefer to
consume anaerobic bacteria.  So, there's a hint, if you high numbers of
ciliates, that you may have anaerobic conditions present.
>
> N is for nematodes, also reported in total number of nematodes per gram,
or mL.  We also identify to genus or species, and that is reported, although
in this case, there were no nematodes, so no species ID.
>
> Tea
> 65AB  11,008TB  19.7AF  102TF  3.5HD  17F  14A  1C  0N
> >
> AH
> AB191  TB421  AF34.4  TF1228  HD2.5
>
> We always report the "desired range" on hte SFI report, based on years and
years of collecting data from thousands of samples.  Based on that
knowledge, we came up with the desired range.
>
> Labs that don't have that background use the numbers that SFI developed.
They have not done the tough work, doing the assessments for years and
years.  They cannot justify the meaning of the numbers they put on their
reports.  They have no quality control of what they do.
>
>
> --------
> Samples were sent to several of the other labs.  We used a gradient of
samples from ag soils hammered with pesticides, to old growth forest
samples.  Clearly the nuked ag soils are the poorest soils, and the old
growth forest soils are highest.
>
> Want to guess what the other labs reported?  Did they get the gradient
right?  I'll be putting the data out in the next e-zine.......
>
> Elaine Ingham
> President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
> SFI Corvallis, OR
> SFI Port Jefferson, NY
> SFI Lismore, NSW, Australia
> SFI Hilversum, The Netherlands
> SFI Cambridge, New Zealand
> SFI Culiacan, Mexico
> SFI Jerome, Idaho
> http://www.soilfoodweb.com
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>



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Received on Sun Apr 11 2004 - 23:15:11 EDT

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