← Elaine Ingham · Research and publications
The soil food web: relationships that keep soil alive
Elaine Ingham presents the soil food web as a network that transforms energy and nutrients. Organisms and their relationships are the starting point.
Educational chapter published:
Energy enters through plants
In the opening educational unit of the Soil Biology Primer, Ingham explains how primary producers capture solar energy and carbon. Roots, plant residues and other organisms feed successive members of the food web. [1]
Small spaces have their own inhabitants
Life concentrates around roots, litter and soil aggregates. Moisture, pores and available food create different microenvironments. Organisms decompose materials, retain nutrients in their biomass and return them to circulation. [1]
What this means in a field
Roots are active meeting places between plants and microorganisms. Ground cover and residue management influence the food entering this system. For us, soil care begins with maintaining these relationships.
A foundation for our training
At the Hellenic Center for Regenerative Agriculture, we want microscopy to connect with field conditions. Recording vegetation, moisture and earlier interventions alongside a sample gives the microscope image its real context.
Sources and references
- Ingham, E.R. (1999). The Soil Food Web. Soil Biology Primer, unit A. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Quality Institute, PA-1637. August 1999. Original publication and study record
- Original full paper as PDF