I went back to the copse with my trowel. I decided to try two spots: one on the northern bank and one where I had sat down the last time I was there.
My spot on the north bank was right under an oak as old as my veteran oak, though I had not noticed it before. The lower 1.5 or 2 metres of its trunk are mass of vast carbuncle like burrs.
And above it's cragged and ivy-decked...
There are holes between the roots and I thought of all the creatures that must use it for shelter... mice and voles and bats and vast numbers of insects.
The soil was hard and dry and I got another zero worm count. BUT I could see worm holes - there's one on the cover picture. I think worms use these like highways. They aerate and drain the soil. I didn't see any holes in the soil at the Reserve.
I put a sample in my bag to take home. See how it looks all fuzzy? The surface area of this grainy and micro-fibred soil must be immense!
In the other location, the soil was darker. Again no worms (I assume they have gone deep in search of water), but again worm holes and the fuzzy look to the soil. I think it's mycorrhizal fungi. Really. I do.
Again, I bagged some up and took it home.
On the bank, the pH was on the acid side of neutral and inside the copse it was neutral.
I used a hand lens and could see the very complex structure of the soil... reminded me of fractals... and in the copse sample, on the right, I saw a pseudoscorpion and an oribatid (soil mite). I put the soil in my garden... hope the little critters will like it there. The mites can live up to two years, which is incredible for something so small!
Mites are an integral part of the soil food web and mesofauna, as well as playing an important role in decomposition, nutrient cycling, spreading beneficial bacteria and spores and aiding soil fertility.
Out of all the soil mites, the oribatid mites, also known as beetle, box, armoured, seed or moss mites are the most numerous, trundling slowly and gloriously through the bryophytes, fungal hyphae and leaf litter across the world. - Chaos of Delight website
This is great!!