Explain phospho bacteria in soil?

1 Answer
Mar 13, 2018

they modify phosphate containing minerals to make them more soluble

Explanation:

Phosphorus is a key limiting nutrient in ecosystems (determines how much life an ecosystem can support). Phosphorous is only useful to living systems when it is soluble in water (ie. can be taken up by roots and made available to the rest of the plant & ultimately the food web). Phosphobacteria transform minerals containing phosphorous into more soluble forms (ie. oxidation) that are more readily taken up by living systems.

They make phosphorus available to other living organisms in much the same way nitrogen fixing bacteria make atmospheric nitrogen available to plants in a form they can readily absorb from the soil.