The Soil Food Web

For hundreds of years, ecologists have been studying which organisms different organisms eat. The soil food web is the product of these studies. These studies help explain how all the living things in the soil interact with one another.

Most food webs you have seen before are those describing aboveground life. In a traditional food web, the source of energy is the sun. The sun helps grass and plants grow, providing food for herbivores (plant-eating animals) such as deer. Carnivores, such as wolves, eat these herbivores. When these animals die, decomposers (bacteria and other single-celled organisms) help to break down their bodies.

The soil food web is different, starting with a different source of energy. In the aboveground food web, the energy source is the sun; in the soil food web, the energy source is decaying organic matter called detritus. Detritus provides food for organisms such as bacteria and fungi, and when bacteria and fungi feed on detritus, they release nutrients back into the soil. Thus, they are the main consumers in the soil.

These bacteria and fungi are also food for larger soil organisms, such as mites, collembolans, nematodes and enchytraeids. On the other hand, some of the small organisms in the soil are herbivores. These organisms eat plant roots and have their own predators. All of these small animals are food for birds, salamanders or lizards.

CAN WE REFER TO THESE THINGS BY THEIR COMMON NAMES? WE ALSO NEED TO GET PICTURES OF AT LEAST SOME OF THESE.