Soil is considered quite often as a habitat. Many organisms live in it, which have significant differences from each other. These include fungi, single-celled organisms, plants and even mammals. The listed organisms have special adaptations that facilitate the process of survival in the soil structure, but at the same time make it difficult to live in another environment.
Features of soil as a living environment
Soil is a fairly loose layer of soil that consists of mineral formations.They are formed by the collapse of rocks under the influence of physicochemical factors and organic elements that appear as a result of the decomposition of the remains of animal and plant nature.
The upper soil structures contain fresh organic elements. This is where many bacterial microorganisms, fungi, arthropods and worms live. Thanks to their activity, the surface layers of the soil develop. At the same time, the chemical and physical destruction of bedrock starts the process of formation of deep soil structures.
The soil environment has the following characteristics:
- high density;
- lack of light;
- small temperature fluctuations;
- minimum amount of oxygen.
The soil is characterized by a large amount of carbon dioxide. In addition, the soil has a rather porous structure.
Ecological groups of organisms
All inhabitants of the soil are called edaphobionts, which in the process of interaction with each other form a special biocenotic complex. It takes an effective part in creating the soil environment and influences its fertility parameters. There is also another type of creatures that inhabit the soil - pedobionts. They go through the larval stage in their development.
In this case, living things can be aerobic or anaerobic. In the first case, they require oxygen for normal functioning, in the second, they do not need it.
By size and degree of mobility
Small organisms that live in the soil are called microfauna.These include rotifers, protozoa, and tardigrades. Essentially, these are aquatic organisms that live in pores filled with water.
Relatively large inhabitants are called mesofauna. Their lifestyle involves living in small caves. This group includes arthropods - various types of mites and primarily wingless insects that do not have tools for digging and are characterized by slow movement along the surfaces of cavities.
Megafauna includes large shrews - representatives of the mammal family. Some animals live underground their entire lives. These include, in particular, moles and mole rats.
According to the degree of connection with the environment
Organisms living underground differ in appearance. This helps to understand their habitat and draw conclusions about their lifestyle. For example, a small body with short legs and tail, a short neck and blind eyes indicates the underground preferences of an animal that digs minks. This appearance is typical of forest moles and steppe mole rats.
Depending on the level of connection with the environment, there are the following groups:
- Geobionts live in the soil structure all the time. These include primary wingless insects and worms. It is also customary to include moles and mole rats in this group.
- Geophiols - their life cycle is characterized by different habitats. They live part of the time in the soil, the other part of the time in a different environment. These mainly include flying insects. These can be mole crickets, beetles, and butterflies. One part of the insects lives in the soil in the larval phase, the second – in the pupal stage.
- Geoxenes - sometimes visit the soil. Most often they use the ground as shelter. These may be burrowing mammals.This group also includes various insects - beetles, hemipterans, cockroaches.
Separately, it is worth mentioning psammophytes and psammophiles. These include, in particular, antlions and marbled beetles. These insects are adapted to living in loose environments in desert areas. Methods of adaptation to granular media may differ significantly. Thus, animals are able to push sand apart with their bodies or have paws that resemble skis.
Ways of adaptation
Methods of adaptation to different habitats may differ significantly. When movement is difficult in a dense substrate, the inhabitants are distinguished by a rounded or worm-shaped body. Thus, earthworms pass soil through the body, and mammals have burrowing limbs.
Mole rats and moles have underdeveloped visual functions. At the same time, in some species of animals, the eyes completely become overgrown. To navigate their many burrows, animals use other senses, such as touch or smell.
During movements, animals constantly rub their bodies against fragments of soil. Therefore, their covers are especially strong and flexible. In addition, the main part of such animals is characterized by cutaneous respiration.
Underground inhabitants also differ in their methods of obtaining food. Among them there are parasites, predatory animals, and phytophages. But the majority are saprotrophs. The basis of their nutrition is dead organic matter. Such organisms include fungi and bacteria, which are very important for the normal formation of soil, its structuring and aeration.
Environment Examples
Examples of soil environments include zokor and mole. They have a powerful, streamlined body of small size, which does not exceed 20-25 centimeters.The front paws are adapted for digging and resemble a shovel in shape. They have long fingers and sharp claws.
Animals that live underground adapt to breathe on the surface of their bodies. When they enter the ground-air environment, they die immediately. This is due to drying of the skin.
Curious facts
The inhabitants of the soil are characterized by interesting features:
- Earthworms drag plant remains into their burrows. This promotes the formation of humus and the return of microelements extracted by plants. When processing fallen leaves, animals produce up to 30 tons per 1 hectare of fertile soil. As a result, a layer measuring 50-80 centimeters is created.
- Some earthworms can reach a length of 2 meters. They make passages 1-4 meters deep. The inhabitants of the southern regions are capable of reaching a depth of 8 meters. When moving, the worms rely on outgrowths in the form of bristles, which are located on the rings of the body.
- May beetles live in the ground in the larval stage for 4 years. They eat the roots of grass and young trees. After pupation, insects emerge to the surface.
Soil formation is associated with the influence of various factors. However, soil microorganisms play a key role. Therefore, animals and plants have specific adaptations with which they feel safe.
