Biologically Active Soil Organics: A Case of Double Identity

One of the most sensitive, yet least defined, indicators of soil quality is its bioactivity. This indicator is often characterized, albeit inadequately, by the soil organic matter, or soil organic C contents. A more appropriate indicator, however, would be the biologically active components of the soil organic matter. These components are constitutents of the microbial biomass and a variety of soil organics serving as energy sources for the microbes. Many methods have been proposed to define biologically active soil organic components, either by experimentally or mathematically. But there are few reports to identify the organic pools by chemical analysis. Only when the duality (analytical chemists and computer modelers) are bridged, it is possible to measure how soil quality is affected by the soil bioactivity and to predict how soil quality is influenced by climatic, soil, and management changes.