About Lesson
- Soil organic matter (SOM) is defined as all organic materials found in soils irrespective of origin or state of decomposition. (University of Minnesota, 2002).
- Soil organic matter is that fraction of the soil composed of anything that once lived.
- It includes plant and animal remains in various stages of decomposition, cells and tissues of soil organisms, and substances from plant roots and soil microbes.
- Or the sum total of organic carbon containing substances in soil is referred as soil organic matter. It varies from < 1% in desert soil to 100% in organic soil.
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