PROTOZOA AND THE

SOIL
• PROTOZOA A NON-CELLULAR which distinguishes them from the adult
forms of all other animals, and most are microscopic in size.
• Free-living protozoa are found in every variety of habitat. Many such as
Dinoflagellates,
• Foraminifera, and Radiolaria are important elements of marine
plankton and after death their shells form the oozes of the ocean floor
and subsequently the fossil beds of limestone deposits.
• In fresh water, Rhizopods, Flagellates, and Ciliates form the protozoan
population and favourable conditions will result in a thick bloom of
these forms.
• Protozoa are also found in hot-springs, salt-lakes, sewage filters and in
the soil.
DISTRIBUTION OF PROTOZOA
• Free-living protozoa in an encysted state are able to withstand the
most adverse conditions for long periods.
• This fact combined with their microscopic size and the many avenues
of transport which are open to them ensure that there can be no
effective geographical barrier against their distribution.
• This is borne out by the numerous species which are found from the
tropics to Greenland and from Europe to the Antarctic.
• So, when protozoan species are absent in an area it is usually
attributable to unfavourable habitats.
• Ciliates are found in both soil and fresh water but there are only a few
species common to both habitats.
• In New Zealand, for example, more than 100 species of ciliates are
known from soil and fresh water but only five of these occur in both
habitats.
• In cases where a genus of ciliates is common to both environments
the soil species are usually distinct from the freshwater species.
• soil species are smaller than freshwater species and their small size is
doubtless related to the restricted space in which most soil protozoa
live.
• The different species of soil protozoa in New Zealand occur in
characteristic groupings which can be correlated with soil type.
• In soils of closely related types the species of the different systematic
groups; amoebae, testaceans, holotrichous and spirotrichous ciliates
show a common pattern or ratio although the actual species involved
are not necessarily the same.
• By using this pattern or ratio as a basis it is possible to compare soils
under similar conditions in different parts of the world for although
the species involved may vary from one geographical area to the next,
the pattern will remain the same.
• Thus, the faunal patterns of samples taken under Podocarp vegetation
in New Zealand and South Africa are very similar although only three
species are common to both faunas.
• Related soil types under different conditions of vegetation,
weathering and podzolization can also be compared, and the effect of
the soil processes upon the character of the fauna can be judged.
• With increased leaching and podzolization for example the total
number of species in the soil tends to fall but this reduction appears
to affect the ciliate fraction less than the rhizopod fraction.
• Again, wherever there is accumulation of litter or plant matter
associated with acidity, rhizopods, especially testaceans, occur in
large numbers.
• There are some cases where not only the faunal pattern but also the
species involved are identical for soils of similar type.
• Thus a ciliate, Phacodinium metschicoffi, which was recovered from a
beech litter from Curious Cove, Marlborough Sounds, was again
recorded from beech litter from the Taupo area.
• Again several testacean species found in sphagnum and peat of
Campbell Island were encountered in sub-alpine soils from the Ruahines.
• In this case then not only did the faunal pattern of the sub-antarctic soils
resemble that of the sub-alpine soils but species found nowhere else
were common to both faunas.
THE ROLE OF PROTOZOA IN THE SOIL
• Like all biological energy systems the soil organic cycle is an open
system, that is, energy is constantly both being introduced and lost.
• That part of the organic cycle with which the protozoa are concerned
takes place within the interstices and pore spaces between the various
soil particles, organic and inorganic.
• Here in the microscopic architecture within and between soil particles
or in holes formed by worms or plant roots and fissures left where the
soil has parted live the soil micro-organisms.
• Bacteria, actinomyces, fungi and algae represent the plant kingdom;
protozoa, mematodes, rotifers, gastrotrichs, tardigrades, enchytraeids
(pot worms), mites and insect larvae represent the animal kingdom.
• To all these organisms moisture is essential for their activity and this is
retained in the spaces from drainage loss partly by capillary action
and partly by the absorbtive power of the soil colloids.
• As the soil dries out the colloids form a thin film around the particles
binding them together.