Hyphae are the tubular branching structures produced by multicellular fungi that form a filamentous mat or ‘mycelium’. Hyphae are capable of penetrating the plant root tissue, absorbing nutrients from plants and/or transferring minerals and nutrients from soil into the plant.
Gneiss is a type of metamorphic rock that forms when existing rocks are subjected to high temperatures and pressures deep within the Earth’s crust. Alternating light and dark mineral layers commonly contain quartz, feldspar, and mica, with darker minerals such as biotite or amphibole, giving them a striped appearance. It is resistant to weathering, which influences the type of soil it forms.
Groundwater is water that is located below the Earth’s surface in aquifers. When rain falls, some of the water seeps into the ground and accumulates within cracks or pores in the rocks (aquifers), forming groundwater resources, which in turn also eventually flow into streams, rivers, lakes or the ocean.
Halophytic plants have physiology that enables survival and growth in saline soil.
A hardpan is a dense layer of soil, usually found below the topsoil layer, that is largely impervious to water. Some hardpans are formed by deposits in the soil that fuse and bind the soil particles. Others are man-made, such as hardpan formed by compaction from repeated trafficking.
Holford and Doyle (1992) Yield responses and nitrogen fertiliser requirements of wheat in relation to soil nitrate levels at various depths. Australian Journal of Soil Research 30, 683-694.
Hydrophobic soil is a soil whose particles repel water.
The process by which water moves into and through soil, into the subsoil via cracks and pore spaces.
Not being or consisting of living material, or (of chemical substances) containing no carbon or only small amounts of carbon.
Nutrients can be available in both organic and inorganic forms. In the context of soil, inorganic nutrients refer to the mineral elements, such as boron, originating from soil or rock, or the inorganic fertilisers, including phosphorus, sulphur, and nitrogen. Separating organic and inorganic nutrients can be challenging, as many are continually cycling between these forms. Organic nutrients bound with carbon must be decomposed before the nutrients they contain are released.