Soil Microbiome for Plant Growth and Bioremediation

Abstract

Terrestrial soil is a complex part of the ecosystem hosting bacteria, fungi, protists, animals, and huge source of nutrients to plants. These soil-dwelling organisms exhibit an array of interactions with plants to span the full range of ecological possibilities. In the 19th century, many different bacterial strains were described as having plant growth favouring potential like Pseudomonas, Azospirillum, and even crop seeds were coated with bacterial cultures to improve growth and yield. The soil microbial community also recognized their considerable role to improve the soil health via energy transfer, catalyzing reactions, and nutrient mineralization. Thus, soil microorganisms and enzymatic process are generally regarded as rate-limiting steps in decomposition and nutrient cycling.