Aridity Reduces Soil's Microbial Diversity Across World's Dryland Regions

A team of international researchers found that increasing aridity could significantly reduce the microbial diversity within communities, since it facilitates in ecosystem services like water filtration and climate regulation, according to a study. Drylands occupy about 41 percent of the earth's surface and are home to 38 percent of the world's population. The researchers found that dry conditions could create major challenges for human and natural populations within dryland regions.

"The results of this work help us to understand the environmental factors driving the abundance and diversity of soil bacteria and fungi in terrestrial ecosystems, and provide new clues about how these organisms may respond to ongoing climate change," Professor Fernando Maestre, lead author of the study, said in a news release.

The changing weather patterns could generate increasing aridity in drylands worldwide, according to the researchers. The study predicts an increase in the land mass of dryland ecosystems by 10 percent before 2100. Therefore, it is essential for researchers to understand how microbes change in drying landscapes along with the possibility of them sustaining life within those regions.

The researchers gathered samples from dryland regions in every continent with the exception of Antarctica. They found that increasing arid conditions reduces the diversity and abundance of essential soil microbes, which lowers the water availability and soil carbon levels in these types of dry soils.

"Our facilities enabled us to perform high-volume genetic sequencing on samples drawn from the top 7.5 cm of soil to identify the presence, diversity and abundance of major soil bacteria and fungi," said Professor Brajesh Singh, a senior author of the study.

The researchers' study is shedding new light on how climate change affects soil microbes and fungi within the various ecosystems across the world.

The findings of this study were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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