Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Significance of Soil Microorganisms with Special Reference to Climate Change


Affiliations
1 School of Environmental Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India
2 Department of Marine Biology, Microbiology and Biochemistry, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, Kerala, India
 

There are a large number of agronomic-ecological interactions that occur in a world with increasing levels of CO2, higher temperatures and a more variable climate. Climate change and the associated severe problems will alter soil microbial populations and diversity. Soils supply many atmospheric green house gases by performing as sources or sinks. The most important of these gases include CH4, CO2 and N2O. Most of the green house gases production and consumption processes in soil are probably due to microorganisms. There is strong inquisitiveness to store carbon (C)in soils to balance global climate change. Microorganisms are vital to C sequestration by mediating putrefaction and controlling the paneling of plant residue-C between CO2 respiration losses or storage in semi-permanent soil-C pools. Microbial population groups and utility can be manipulated or distorted in the course of disturbance and C inputs to either support or edge the retention of C. Fungi play a significant role in decomposition and appear to produce organic matter that is more recalcitrant and favor long-term C storage and thus are key functional group to focus on in developing C sequestration systems. Plant residue chemistry can influence microbial communities and C loss or flow into soil C pools. Therefore, as research takings to maximize C sequestration for agricultural and forest ecosystems - moreover plant biomass production, similar studies should be conducted on microbial communities that considers the environmental situations.

Keywords

Climate Change, Carbon, Soil, Microorganisms
User
Notifications

  • Allison SD, Wallenstein MD and Bradford MA (2010) Soil carbon response to warming dependent on microbial physiology. Nature Geosci. 3, 336–340.
  • Bardgett RD, Freeman C and Ostle NJ (2008) Microbial contributions to climate change through carbon cycle feedbacks, ISME Journal., 2, 805–814.
  • Briones MJI, Poskitt J and Ostle N (2004) Influence of warming and enchytraeid activities on soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes. Soil Biol Biochem., 36, 1851-1859.
  • Castro HF, Classen AT, Austin EE, Norby RJ and Schadt CW (2010) Soil microbial community responses to multiple experimental climate change rivers. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 76, 999–1007.
  • Craine JM, Morrow C and Fierer N (2007) Microbial nitrogen limitation increases decomposition. Ecology., 88, 2105–2113.
  • Davidson EA and Janssens IA (2006) Temperature sensitivity of soil carbon decomposition and feedbacks to climate change. Nature, 440, 165-173.
  • Houghton RA (2007) Balancing the global carbon budget. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 35, 313–347.
  • IPCC (2007) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (eds Solomon S. et al.) (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, 2007).
  • McLauchlan KK, Hobbie SE and Post WM (2006) Conversion from agriculture to grassland builds soil organic matter on decadal timescales. Ecol. Appl., 16, 143-153.
  • Neue HU (2007) Fluxes of methane from rice fields and potential for mitigation. Soil Use Manag., 13, 258–267.
  • Schlesinger WH and Andrews JA (2000) Soil respiration and the global carbon cycle. Biogeochemistry, 48, 7–20.
  • Schlesinger WH and Lichter J (2001) Limited carbon storage in soil and litter of experimental forest plots under increased CO2. Nature, 411, 466-469.
  • Smith P (2008) Land use change and soil organic carbon dynamics. Nutr. Cycl. Agroecosyst, 81, 169-178.
  • Steinbeiss S (2008) Plant diversity positively affects short-term soil carbon storage in experimental grasslands. Glob. Chang. Biol.14, 2937–2949.
  • Teske A (1994) Evolutionary relationships among ammonia-oxidizing and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. J. Bacteriol., 176, 6623–6630.
  • Van der Heijden MGA, Bardgett RD and van Straalen NM (2008) The unseen majority: soil microbes as drivers of plant diversity and productivity in terrestrial ecosystems. Ecol. Lett., 11, 296–310.
  • Willey JM, Sherwood LM and Woolverton CJ (2009) Prescott’s Principles of Microbiology. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.

Abstract Views: 342

PDF Views: 0




  • Significance of Soil Microorganisms with Special Reference to Climate Change

Abstract Views: 342  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

Rinoy Varghese
School of Environmental Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India
A. A. Mohamed Hatha
Department of Marine Biology, Microbiology and Biochemistry, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, Kerala, India

Abstract


There are a large number of agronomic-ecological interactions that occur in a world with increasing levels of CO2, higher temperatures and a more variable climate. Climate change and the associated severe problems will alter soil microbial populations and diversity. Soils supply many atmospheric green house gases by performing as sources or sinks. The most important of these gases include CH4, CO2 and N2O. Most of the green house gases production and consumption processes in soil are probably due to microorganisms. There is strong inquisitiveness to store carbon (C)in soils to balance global climate change. Microorganisms are vital to C sequestration by mediating putrefaction and controlling the paneling of plant residue-C between CO2 respiration losses or storage in semi-permanent soil-C pools. Microbial population groups and utility can be manipulated or distorted in the course of disturbance and C inputs to either support or edge the retention of C. Fungi play a significant role in decomposition and appear to produce organic matter that is more recalcitrant and favor long-term C storage and thus are key functional group to focus on in developing C sequestration systems. Plant residue chemistry can influence microbial communities and C loss or flow into soil C pools. Therefore, as research takings to maximize C sequestration for agricultural and forest ecosystems - moreover plant biomass production, similar studies should be conducted on microbial communities that considers the environmental situations.

Keywords


Climate Change, Carbon, Soil, Microorganisms

References