ABSTRACT
Soil is a dynamic entity (Delgado and Gomez, 2016) that encompasses physical (solids, air, and water), chemical (organic and inorganic forms), and biological (Macro: micro – flora and fauna) components. The components of solid phase of soil include organic and inorganic matter. All living and dead cell biomass contribute to the organic matter in the soil, while a range of inorganic substances are present in the soil such as rock, silicates, minerals, salts, ions, etc. The plant health is reflective of good soil condition. Gaseous phase is present in discrete pores which influences the functional and geochemical cycling of nutrients in the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Soil microorganisms constitute less than 0.5% (w/w) of the soil mass, but they play a key role in soil properties and processes (Yan et al., 2015; Kang et al., 2014). In addition, the emission of Carbon dioxide (CO2) from soils, which includes respiration from soil organisms and roots, contributes approximately 10% to the atmospheric CO2.
