Definition
The soil biota is made of all soil living organisms from microorganisms to macrofauna, including roots. Most of these organisms are considered as soil ecosystem engineers (Jones et al., 1994) involved in the formation of aggregates in soils and in the generation of the structural porosity. Their impact greatly differs according to the type of organism, soil conditions, and the soil biodiversity.
Soil biota: impact on physical properties
The soil living organisms range from eye-invisible microbes (bacteria and fungi) to macrofauna (termites, earthworms, etc.) with organisms of intermediary size as microfauna (protozoa, nematodes, etc.) and mesofauna (microarthropods, enchytraeids, etc.). Furthermore, although plants are primary producers and determine the amounts of carbon that enter the system via the aboveground system (Wardle, 2002), the root system, as a heterotrophic part of the plant, may also be considered as a soil organism as it is in close relationship with other...
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Boivin, P., Kohler-Milleret, R. (2011). Soil Biota, Impact on Physical Properties. In: Gliński, J., Horabik, J., Lipiec, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Agrophysics. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3585-1_145
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