Skip to content
onsuggest
Log in
Article en

When rain finally does come to drylands, only some microbes in the soil 'awaken'

Source: Phys.org ·

In arid regions, the microbes that power threatened dryland soil ecosystems called biological soil crusts stay dormant over long periods, only "awakening" when they sense moisture from infrequent rainfall. Now, a team led by researchers at Penn State—driven by projections that those biocrusts will decline by as much as 40% in the next 45 years—found that when a dryland soil does get wet, most of the microbes in the biocrust stay inactive. It's a discovery that will inform ongoing efforts to conserve and restore biocrusts, according to the researchers.

What is When rain finally does come to drylands, only some microbes in the soil 'awaken'?

When rain finally does come to drylands, only some microbes in the soil 'awaken' is a article discovery curated from Phys.org. In arid regions, the microbes that power threatened dryland soil ecosystems called biological soil crusts stay dormant over long periods, only "awakening" when they sense…

How can I access or experience this?

You can experience this content directly on its original host (Phys.org) by clicking the "Open Original" button.

Where does this content come from?

Curated from Phys.org by the OnSuggest team to surface the most interesting and serendipitous content on the web.

Keyboard shortcuts

Previous discovery
←P
Next discovery
→N
Like
L
Not for me
X
Save
S
Show this help
?
Close
Esc

Shortcuts work on the discovery page.