Effects of Grazing Animals on Soil biology

Effect of Grazing Animals on Soil Biology
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Effect of Grazing Animals on Soil Biology
The endeavor of soil biologists is to improve upon the biological functions of soil for the sustenance of various ecosystems. The procedures include stabilizing the soil structure, effective nutrient cycling and degradation and detoxification of toxicants. Such processes occur naturally, by the interactions between various abiotic and biotic communities. Various studies have indicated that improper soil management practices impact biological function of soils (Wardle, 2002). They can enhance or degrade the microbial habitat which produced mutualism between each other. Such practices may add or remove food and nutrient supply and, therefore, lead to a loss of biological community. Finally, soil management may kill essential microorganisms which overall impacts the quality of soil. Most of the times, a particular interventional strategy is used to address one issue of soil quality. However, due to such interventions, a specific community/or communities might get affected and may become lost from that habitat. Loss of species will reduce the biodiversity of a habitat and lead to destabilization of the soil ecosystem. One such impact on soil biology is the issue of grazing animals (Gliessman, 1998).
Each ecosystem is stabilized by a producer-consumer ratio. If the biomass of producers is very high or if the biomass of consumers is very high it …