It isn't often when scientists and policy makers think about the effects of climate change that they consider the microbial population. Microbes are 60% of the biomass on earth and have profound effects on the global environment. As a demonstration of this, Professor Ferran Garcia-Pichel of Arizona State University has studied the microbes present in desert soil using new molecular survey techniques. These methods allow researchers to rapidly characterize the population of microbes present.
An important finding of this research was that the microbial community of the top crust of soil is dependent upon the activity of two cyanobacteria: Microcoleus vaginatus and Microcoleus steenstrupii. While there names are similar, they are not closely related. These microbes are essential to the food web of the desert as they are the primary producers for the rest of the life that lives in the soil. M. vaginatus dominates deserts in cooler climes while M. steenstrupii is dominant in warmer climes. When the researchers modeled what would happen to these microecosystems when temperatures change due to global warming, they found that M. vaginatus would be eliminated. The consequences of this shift in the microbial community is unknown. It is know these microbes are critical in maintaining the stability of the desert crust and preventing rapid erosion. Will the change in dominance affect this or other unforeseen facets?