And they compete with and parasitize the pests and diseases that attack plants, creating naturally healthier, more attractive landscapes that are easier to maintain. To build bricks, straw and sand have to stick together. Then the bricks are held together with mortar to form walls. The house has structure when the walls are arranged in certain patterns. Different organism groups in the soil foodweb do the same for soil structure.
Bacteria glue the clays, silts and sands together into microaggregates.
Microaggregates are bound together by fungal hyphae, root hairs and roots. The structure of the rooms are made by the arthropods, insects and earthworms. Only when all the organisms are present and active can roots and water move into the soil with ease. The soil foodweb is fueled by the primary production of plants, which provide the living and dead organic matter that supports the other creatures. Plants also actively exude large amounts of carbohydrates, produced by photosynthesis, from their roots.