Climate Change and its Influence on Soil Microbial Community

The effects of climate change on crop yields vary greatly from region to region across the globe. The projected climate change will also adversely affect soil quality by changing its physiochemical and biological properties. The soil's biological properties and processes are primarily mediated by microbial diversity and their distribution. The presence of soil microbes facilitates the production of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The microorganism also responded to global warming and climate change by either producing greenhouse gases or utilizing them in the environment. Soil microorganisms can recycle and transform the essential elements such as carbon and nitrogen that make up cells. Even small changes in the soil moisture content result in a change in the microbial habitat, particularly the fungal communities. However, the bacterial communities remain intact. The increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide not only increases methane production from the soil but also reduces the uptake of methane by up to 30% in the soil microbial population. The microbial communities of the tree leaves act on plant residue during this process. The increase in temperature is likely to accelerate the rate of decomposition that emits carbon dioxide from the soil. However, higher temperatures also elevate soil nitrogen levels, which suppresses the rates of fungal decomposition. This affects microbial communities. At the same time, trees and shrubs that advance towards the north in the tundra under the influence of temperature alteration can also influence microbes in unknown ways through the shadows they cast on the ground. 

Keywords: Climate change, Greenhouse gases, Soil health, Soil microbial communities.