Microbes May Not Be As Adaptable To Climate Change As Believed: Study
Earlier, studies showed that soil microbes can adapt to a change in the climate. However, a new study shows that such organisms that influence the earth's carbon cycle may not really influence it as much as thought.
The microbes store the carbon in the soil, after which it is essential that bacteria, fungi and other microbes need to again convert it to carbon dioxide and other gases, which can be released into the air.
"Soil is the major buffer system for environmental changes, and the microbial community is the basis for that resilience," said author Vanessa Bailey of the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. "If the microbial community is not as resilient as we had assumed, then it calls into question the resilience of the overall environment to climate change."
Steve Swayne