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  2. Detritus - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detritus

    Horse feces and straw are forms of detritus, and are used as manure. In biology, detritus (/ d ɪ ˈ t r aɪ t ə s / or / d ɛ ˈ t r ɪ t ə s /) is organic matter made up of the decomposing remains of organisms and plants, and also of feces. Detritus usually hosts communities of microorganisms that colonize and decompose (remineralise) it.

  3. Plant litter - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_litter

    This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent nutrients are added to the top layer of soil, commonly known as the litter layer or O horizon ("O" for "organic"). Litter is an important factor in ecosystem dynamics , as it is indicative of ecological productivity and may be useful in predicting regional nutrient cycling and soil ...

  4. Humus - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humus

    Humus is different from decomposing soil organic matter. The latter looks rough and has visible remains of the original plant or animal matter. Fully humified humus, on the contrary, has a uniformly dark, spongy, and jelly-like appearance, and is amorphous; it may gradually decay over several years or persist for millennia. [14]

  5. Soil organic matter - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_organic_matter

    The water content of most vegetal detritus ranges from 60% to 90%. The dry matter consists mainly of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Although these three elements make up about 92% of the dry weight of the organic matter in the soil, other elements present are essential for the nutrition of plants, including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium ...

  6. Soil carbon - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_carbon

    Detritus resulting from plant senescence is the major source of soil organic carbon. Plant materials, with cell walls high in cellulose and lignin, are decomposed and the not-respired carbon is retained as humus. Cellulose and starches readily degrade, resulting in short residence times.

  7. Soil biology - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_biology

    Of these, bacteria and fungi play key roles in maintaining a healthy soil. They act as decomposers that break down organic materials to produce detritus and other breakdown products. Soil detritivores, like earthworms, ingest detritus and decompose it. Saprotrophs, well represented by fungi and bacteria, extract soluble nutrients from delitro ...

  8. Leaf mold - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_mold

    A range of micro detritivores are also involved in converting the leaf material into a fine-grained humus, including many isopods, millipedes, earthworms, etc.

  9. Mor humus - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mor_humus

    Mor humus is a form of forest floor humus occurring mostly in coniferous forests. [1] Mor humus consists of evergreen needles and woody debris that litter the forest floor. This litter is slow to decompose , in part due to their chemical composition (low pH, low nutrient content), but also because of the generally cool and wet conditions where ...