ProgressivelyWorse on Nostr: Spot on, John Doe. A healthy amount of Biodiversity in organisms helps indicate the ...
Spot on, John Doe.
A healthy amount of Biodiversity in organisms helps indicate the level of active nutrient cycling you currently have.
Nematodes, Protozoa, microarthropod segments (or whole organisms), cilliates, flagellates are the basic organisms you should be able to easily observe.
When you are looking at OM, You should be able to see the different stages of decomposition if it's an active vermicompost. (Depending if the sample is a finished product or taken during the composting process)
Some examples would be in the Humic substances observed. Small aggregates, big aggregates and the different colors indicate different molecular composition of the materials.
Golden is an indicator of heavier fulvic content while dark brown indicates heavier humic content.
Besides organisms and Humics, you should observe generally hyaline (clear) granular objects that indicate minerals present in your sample. These are going to be obvious in size compared to a fungal spore or bacteria.
In the case of fungi you are looking typically for uniform segments of hyphae that often include segments through the structure, they often look like different compartments within the strand. (One aspect to think about when taking your sample is the amount of agitation being done, a more gentle approach typically keeps longer fungal segments in tact. A more aggressive approach causes the segments to break easier)
Take note of the amount observed. This could be as simple as: low, medium, high amount observed.
Fungal spores present is another aspect to look at. If you take a moment and analyze testate amobae in your sample, often you will see fungal spores inside. This is just one indication of active nutrient cycling taking place.
Each worm casting / vermicompost diet would produce different results in your analysis. A worm Bin that has been geared towards a heavier fungal diet will look different than a bin geared more towards a bacterial diet.
If you want to go over a few samples, let me know and we can connect.
A healthy amount of Biodiversity in organisms helps indicate the level of active nutrient cycling you currently have.
Nematodes, Protozoa, microarthropod segments (or whole organisms), cilliates, flagellates are the basic organisms you should be able to easily observe.
When you are looking at OM, You should be able to see the different stages of decomposition if it's an active vermicompost. (Depending if the sample is a finished product or taken during the composting process)
Some examples would be in the Humic substances observed. Small aggregates, big aggregates and the different colors indicate different molecular composition of the materials.
Golden is an indicator of heavier fulvic content while dark brown indicates heavier humic content.
Besides organisms and Humics, you should observe generally hyaline (clear) granular objects that indicate minerals present in your sample. These are going to be obvious in size compared to a fungal spore or bacteria.
In the case of fungi you are looking typically for uniform segments of hyphae that often include segments through the structure, they often look like different compartments within the strand. (One aspect to think about when taking your sample is the amount of agitation being done, a more gentle approach typically keeps longer fungal segments in tact. A more aggressive approach causes the segments to break easier)
Take note of the amount observed. This could be as simple as: low, medium, high amount observed.
Fungal spores present is another aspect to look at. If you take a moment and analyze testate amobae in your sample, often you will see fungal spores inside. This is just one indication of active nutrient cycling taking place.
Each worm casting / vermicompost diet would produce different results in your analysis. A worm Bin that has been geared towards a heavier fungal diet will look different than a bin geared more towards a bacterial diet.
If you want to go over a few samples, let me know and we can connect.