Protozoa are single celled microbes, which play a relatively minor role in decomposition, but a large role in agricultural nutrient cycling and the soil ecosystem. Thus, a vibrant and biodiverse community of protozoa is a key component of any healthy or living soil. Healthy soil has broad biodiversity across all 7 types of life.
Some protozoa contribute to decomposition by consuming organic debris directly, but most ingest bacteria and fungi. Nutrients and chemicals needed by the plants are effectively locked up by bacteria, but when these bacteria are consumed by protozoa, these nutrients are expelled in an ionic form that becomes plant available. Hence, the critical role of two of the seven components of the soil microbe biome (or soil food web), amoebas (read more here) and flagellates.
This page will link to all SymSoil articles flagellates and other protozoa. Articles on amoebae (another group of protozoa species) can be found here.
Soil Food Web Overview can be found here.
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About SymSoil® Inc.
A California B-corp, SymSoil is a leader in development of biological soil amendments for agriculture that restores the microbes that provide the right food to the plant roots, improving plant health, and making food more nutrient dense and flavorful, the way nature intended. SymSoil has products and services for growers using regenerative agriculture methodologies which improve profitability. Its flagship product, SymSoil® RC (Robust Compost) is a complex community of soil microbes, which includes in excess of 1,000 species, covering broad biodiversity of bacteria, fungi, amoebae, and other protozoa, beneficial nematodes and microarthropods. SymSoil was named one of 2019’s AgTech Companies to Watch.
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