PHC Film: Soil is a living organism

Healthy plants need healthy soil
for healthy growth.

To be able to precisely absorb
what plants need,

the soil needs to contain minerals
and the necessary soil life.

Research shows that
the widespread use of synthetic fertilizer

leads to soils that no longer have
the required biology

for healthy plant growth.

Fertilizer comes from a time

in which there was no understanding
of the long-term effects on the soil.

For farmers, fertilizer was a miracle.

The harvests doubled,

and growers were able to provide
the required food for a growing population.

But now, after years
of using synthetic fertilizers,

the effects on soil quality are apparent.

Increasingly, it is seen that

fewer nutritional minerals
remain in the soil

resulting in plants that quickly
become weak and diseased.

They are no longer protected
by bacteria and fungi

but instead are attacked by them.

As well as this, using fertilizer
means that, these days,

farmers need to plow deeper,
as the ground becomes quickly compacted.

This is a costly business for farmers
and is disastrous for the soil.

There is a better way.

It is not widely known,

but the roots of plants are able
to develop more easily

in an environment rich in old roots.

Here you can see
the current plowing method,

in which the soil is turned
to 25 centimeters.

This means that the plant really struggles
to reach the thousands of passageways

that other plants have created
with their roots.

They often don't even reach
through the plow pan

which is caused by plowing the land
with heavy machinery.

A surface cultivation method
can offer a solution to this.

This shallow soil processing means that
the roots are quickly able to access

the passageways left by decomposing roots.

In this situation, they only have
to work really hard

once they reach the extremities
of the passageways.

This means that they can
root deeper, year after year,

and ensures that there is even more
soil and water available for growth.

Dealing with diseases by spraying
does little more than suppress symptoms.

A healthy plant is able to keep
most plant diseases out.

In response to the negative effects
of using fertilizers,

pesticides are used to save the harvest.

The conclusion we can draw

is that plants that
are only given fertilizer

will ultimately always become diseased.

Fertilizer is the direct cause of
the use of most pesticides.

In order to resolve the worldwide problem
of over-fertilization,

the vicious circle must be broken.

The question that
we must ask ourselves is:

how can we improve the soil?

The answer is surprisingly simple
but requires some explanation.

Just like every other organism
on the planet,

a plant does not function independently.

Health and growth depends on a partnership
between specialist bacteria and fungi.

Plants, fungi, and bacteria
form a wonderful system,

based on trading products.

How does it work?

Fungi and bacteria supply nutrients

from the soil that would
otherwise be hard to reach.

In exchange for this, plant supplies
sugars in the form of glucose.

To explain this system,

we will explain bacteria
and fungi separately.

Plants have a problem.

Their fine absorption roots
have a limited capacity.

They only use 4 to 7%
of the soil volume

and are, on average,
not thicker than a hair.

They don't live long,
only one to three weeks.

As you can see,
plants need external help.

Plants use their absorption roots
to forge a partnership.

If they can't find partners, they'll die.

If they succeed,

it's the start of a beautiful relationship.

From now on, a symbiosis can be created.

Minerals are hard to mine from the soil,

but rhizobacteria are specialized
in this process,

particularly when it comes to
releasing phosphate,

which is very important for the plant.

These bacteria also carry out
countless other important tasks,

including one which is very special.

Rhizobacteria form a sort of
natural defense system around the roots.

Anything attacking the plant
is kept outside

by the physical presence
of these rhizobacteria.

They ensure that there is no room
for disease-causing bacteria.

They have their own interest in this
because the plant provides them with food.

However, the bacteria also need help.

They are not travelers.

The bacterial colonies do not move
back and forth from minerals to the roots.

Most minerals found in soil are located
outside the reach of the roots,

and therefore, also out of
the reach of rhizobacteria.

These can only live near the roots.

As we have seen before,

the zone of absorption is
therefore very limited.

Mycorrhizal fungi are able to drastically
increase this absorption capacity.

It may sound like
a modern development,

but it's not.

The fungus has always existed

but due to modernization,
its role has been neglected.

Due to many years of using
synthetic fertilizers,

mycorrhiza is only very sporadically
found in agricultural soils.

Mycorrhizal fungi have always lived
in symbiotic relation with the plant roots.

Mycorrhizal fungus forms
a living connection within the roots

and creates an absorption
and transport system.

This is essential for healthy plant growth.

Mycorrhiza in the root is just as normal
as chlorophyll in the leaves;

this is beyond doubt.

As stated before,

the absorption roots of plants
are 0.2 millimeters thick.

This means that they can only grow
in macropores as shown here.

Now we zoom in to see what happens

when the plant gets help
from the mycorrhizal fungus.

The fungal threads are
even thinner than most bacteria.

They are only as thick as three microns.

This means that these thin threads
grow easily in the micropores

where the majority of nutrients
and water are stored.

Without help, a plant would never
be able to reach these areas.

It's not just the roots

but also the fungal threads
that are responsible

for the absorption of nutrients and water.

The long, thin fungal hyphae
that fully takes over

the absorption of materials from the roots
are able to provide disease resistance.

Distantly located minerals
that are bound to iron and calcium

are now easier to absorb.

These fine threads or hypha
can easily be a kilometer long

in just one teaspoon of soil.

Mycorrhizal fungi cause absorption capacity
to be seven times higher in average.

This means that growing
can be done with less water

and that weeds have far less chance
to thrive due to competition for space.

The benefit to the fungi is
the glucose produced by the plants.

For the plants, the benefit is
a larger absorption zone.

This unique and constant interaction
between the plant bacteria and fungi

creates a really fantastic symbiosis.

The payout that the plant
provides to its partners

is water, minerals, and glucose.

The partnership between soil and roots
requires healthy soil biology.

Healthy soil contains organic matter
from dead leaves,

dead roots, and dead animals.

This dead organic matter
is broken down in nature

by soil life to become humus.

This creates a great deal of
food for soil life

and the soil retains plenty of CO2.

Years of using fertilizer

has caused the humus to disappear
from agricultural land.

You could think of humus
as the battery of the soil.

It's where the energy is stored.

The energy that the soil life
needs to do its work.

Without the humus, it is almost impossible
to achieve natural soil recovery.

It has long been thought that
nitrogen fertilizer stimulates the soil life

as more bacteria are able to grow.

But to maintain
their carbon-nitrogen balance,

they are compelled to consume
more organic material --

which then enters the atmosphere as CO2.

The symbiosis between plant fungi and
bacteria is not only a great partnership

it is absolutely vital.

Without these transformers
of organic material,

we would all perish
in excess organic material.

Returning to the question
we asked previously

about how we can improve the soil

the answer must be,

ultimately, plants improve
the soil on their own.

They do this through the symbiosis between
plants, bacteria, and fungi.

Plants are really the only soil improvers.

Here we can see a clear difference
between an absorption system

without and with mycorrhizae fungi.

The plant on the left is
entirely dependent on

the pH value of the soil
and the supply of minerals.

The plant on the right has roots
that are able to optimally self-regulate

the pH level and absorption
via mycorrhizae fungi.

This results in a healthy absorption

that works perfectly
with organic fertilizers.

Using this natural system,
we will achieve healthy soil

that in turn brings healthy plants

that can produce
healthy fruit and vegetables.

The way we deal with our soil has
a direct effect on the emission of CO2

and the nutritional value of our food.