A Spanish study found that microorganisms of Mediterranean soils are very resilient to climate change, which means that the Mediterranean ecosystems are not as fragile as compared to other, in front of possible variations, in global temperature.
This has been explained to RTVE.es by the lead author of the research, Jorge Curiel, who notes that these microbial communities --bacteria and fungi, mainly--, have a highly adaptable capacity and can operate under extreme conditions, such as "likely" current scenario lies ahead.
Although there is still lack of knowledge, about the world of bacteria and fungi, we know that these organisms are essential for the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. They live in soil and they are responsible to provide plant nutrients and, also, that protect against pathogens attacks.
“Therefore, to know their resistance to changes in the environment allows us to assume that the Mediterranean region will not be as affected as, for example, the tropics to climate change”, says the scientist.
The experimient has been to subject the communities of microorganisms to extreme drought. Over ten years, in a coastal oak soils in the mountains of Prades (forest Poblet, Tarragona) have simulated more arid land by excluding rain in certain plots. That is, they have recreated the possible weather conditions that await us in the future.
Through a technique of massive DNA sequencing, known as "pyrosequencing" have found that the bacteria studied were not only able to survive but also not altered "significantly" their structure.
“There have been adapted throughout history, it is a natural selection. At the Mediterranean climate, changes –year on year, seasonal and even daily-- are large, so these communities have already developed this resistance", says Curiel.
He also explained that knowing the reality of these living beings is critical, because any change, that occur in them, has crucial consequences, on the ecosystem they inhabit. Thus and observing their taxonomic and functional stability, the team of scientists think that, in the Mediterranean regions, climate change will affect less.
The research also highlights that these organisms play a key role, in emissions of carbon dioxide, the gas that contributes most to the greenhouse effect, since their respiration produces, approximately, five times more CO2, than all human activities combined.
If changes occur in these communities, Curiel notes that the consequences could be decisive: what about their emissions?, Would they increase?, What if they stop providing nutrients to plants, essential if they perform photosynthesis?.
Finally, they have also studied the big diversity of microorganisms, much higher than which exists in the "macro world": in half a gram of soil, they can be found up to 3,000 different species of bacteria and over 1,000 fungal phylotypes.
The work, which has involved researchers from the National Museum of Natural Sciences, has been published in two papers in the journal “Soil Biology and Biochemistry” and in the “FEMS Microbiology Ecology”.
Well, I hope that you have liked this study.
Till next time, kind regards,
Luis.
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