Soil microbiomes and climate change

Abstract

The soil microbiome governs biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen and other elements and is vital for growth of plants and animal life. Understanding and predicting the impact of climate change on soil microbiomes and the ecosystem services they carry out presents a grand challenge and major opportunity as we direct our research efforts towards one of the most pressing problems facing our planet. Furthermore, we review the current state of knowledge about the impacts of climate change on soil microorganisms in different climate sensitive soil ecosystems, as well as potential ways that soil microbes can be harnessed to help mitigate the negative consequences of climate change.