Abstract
Micrographs from two semi-arid grassland soils — a cold temperate Mollisol (Chernozem) from western Canada and a hot Alfisol (Savannah Ochrosol) from northern Ghana — were examined by light and electron microscopy. Soil samples were stained with ruthenium red to show microbial polysaccharides. The stained soils were partially dispersed in water and subsamples of all particles and aggregates (< 50 µm) were examined by light microscopy. Subsamples containing mineral particles < 5 µm as well as larger organic particles and aggregates of low density were observed by electron microscopy and analyzed with an electron microprobe (EDXRA). The ruthenium red stain adequately stained organic material for light and transmission electron microscopy and appeared to be relatively specific for polysaccharides of fungal and bacterial origin. This allowed the study of organo-mineral and microbial mineral associations in microaggregates, and pointed to the importance of organic matter and microbes in the mechanisms of aggregate formation and stabilization and structure in soils.
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Tiessen, H., Stewart, J.W.B. Light and electron microscopy of stained microaggregates: the role of organic matter and microbes in soil aggregation. Biogeochemistry 5, 312–322 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02180070
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02180070