Which one of the following processes during decomposition is correctly described?

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Humification - leads to the accumulation of a dark coloured substance called humus, which undergoes microbial action at a very fast rate

Catabolism - the last step in the decomposition under fully anaerobic conditions

Leaching - water soluble inorganic nutrients rise to the top layers of soil

Fragmentation - carried out by organisms such as earthworm

answer is D.

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Detailed Solution

The important steps of decomposition are fragmentation, leaching, catabolism, humification, and mineralisation.

Fragmentation: carried out by earthworms, which help to break down detritus into smaller particles.
Leaching: water-soluble inorganic nutrients go down into the soil horizon, and get precipitated as unavailable salts.
Catabolism: bacterial and fungal enzymes degrade detritus into inorganic substances, and this process occurs in aerobic conditions.
Humification: leads to the accumulation of a dark-colored substance called humus, which undergoes decomposition at an extremely slow rate.
Mineralisation: the humus is further degraded with the help of microbes, and the release of inorganic nutrients occurs.

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