Soil–Microbes–Plants: Interactions and Ecological Diversity

Abstract

In interactions between plants and soil, microorganisms have significant roles. Ecological stability is contributed by the biogeochemical cycling of elements. An emerging body of research is distinguishing the impacts that root-associated microbial communities can have on plant fitness and growth. Rocks and minerals are weathered by the activities of plants, which exude various types of hormones, with a crucial role in the supply of organic matter and formation of soils. Various types of plant species have distinctive biological characteristics that show constraint to precise soil types. Plant–microbe interactions in soil are contributing to a new, microbially based perspective on plant community and ecology. These microorganisms are soil dwellers, diverse, and their interactions with plants vary with respect to specificity, environmental heterogeneity, and fitness impact. The key influences on plant community structure and dynamics are effected by two microbial procedures: microbial intervention of niche diversity in resource use and response dynamics among the soil community and plants. The hypothesis of niche diversity is based on various interpretations that the nutrients of soil are found in different chemical forms: the plant requires accessing these enzymes and nutrients, and the microorganisms of the soil are a major source of these enzymes. Plant–microbe interactions are a significant establishing force for extensive spatial gradients in species abundance. The positive response (a homogenizing force) and negative response (a diversifying force) of virtual balance may contribute to detected latitudinal (and altitudinal) diversity patterns. The microbially based perception for the ecology of plants promises to contribute to our understanding of long-standing issues in ecology and to disclose new areas of future investigation.