Such land treatments may also lead to a large input of crop residues
into soils, therefore, a large input of cellulose, because up to 15% of the
organic C in crop residues can be cellulose and cellulose derivatives
(Stevenson, 1982). Understanding the process of cellulose decomposition and
identifying the factors involved in this process in soils would be an important
building block in understanding the microbiological and biochemical changes
associated with tillage and residue management practices. Degradation of
cellulose in soils is not well understood because of the heterogeneity of the soil
system, complexity of cellulose forms and their association with other
substances, and the multiplicity of the cellulase systems involved in the
degradation process.