That it makes the nutrients within humus soluble is a reason why water is important to humus. Humus is dark brown, fresh smelling, nutrient rich organic matter. So it's a source of necessary nutrients to plant roots, soil, and soil food web critters. But the nutrients must be in soluble form in order to be available. Otherwise, they're present in soil but unavailable and inaccessible.
breakdown of organic remains.
it is rock particles, minerals, air, living organisms, water and humus
Humus can hold more water
Soil is made up of a thin layer of weathered rock, humus, air, and water.
Humus
Compost is essential to sustainable agriculture. It is the most important way to renew the minerals that cultivation and harvest take away. It is also a great way to sequester carbon, as all the composted organic matter decomposes as humus. That humus is also critical for the health and growth of the roots and therefore of the whole plant. Humus traps more water, reducing erosion and leaching, and also releases more water when the soil gets dry, it acts as a buffer to protect the plants from the variabilities of the weather. Humus also encourages more life, such as earthworms, and a more balanced biology in general.
Decomposition of dead organisms adds organic matter, or humus, to the soil; humus is necessary to support plant growth.
It becomes into humus
it could be humus and water or water and weathered rocks
it could be humus and water or water and weathered rocks
That it's a source of nutrients and that it improves soil structure are two reasons why humus is important. Humus is dark brown, fresh smelling, nutrient rich organic matter. That it contains such important elements as nitrogen makes it a source of nutrients for plant roots, soil, and soil food web members. That it encourages the formation of air and water pore spaces makes it a facilitator of soil structure. The soil that has adequate air and water pore space has appropriate moisture levels and adequate drainage. Both of these contributions from the presence of humus in soil account for the improved well being of soil, soil food web critters, and plant parts above and below ground surface levels.
Humus is the end result of organic matter breaking down in the soil or in a compost pile. Humus is "fluffy", it soaks up water like a sponge and has a tremendous surface area packed into a small space. The surface area allows for more chemical reactions with the soil solution, increasing the soil's nutrient-exchange capacity and allowing it to support more complex plant communities on the surface. Humus increases the water-holding and nutrient-exchanging capacity of the soil, and its gradual breakdown releases a slow, steady supply of nutrients to plants.