August 1, 2019 – From the equator to the arctic, life forms have adapted to their particular climate and regional conditions. In steamy sub-tropical estuaries, mangrove forests dominate the landscape. They bridge the salt- and fresh-water worlds. In northern Canada and Russia, the evergreen trees of the taiga forest endure incredibly cold winters and long periods of almost complete darkness. These differences are visible to us living on the earth’s surface.

But what about the tiny life within the soil? Can the millions of microbes in a single teaspoonful of soil be as specialized as the trees they live beneath? The Soil Science Society of America’s (SSSA) August 1^st Soils Matter blog looks at an adaptable type of soil microbe – rhizobia bacteria.

“Rhizobia are very important in natural and agricultural systems,” says blogger Charlotte Thurston. “This is because they form symbiotic relationships with specific plants called legumes, helping these plants to get the nutrients they need to survive.”

There is quite a variation in how different types of rhizobia thrive. “Studies of rhizobia strains from arctic regions have shown that these bacteria can continue to grow even at 0°C, which is freezing!” says Thurston. “At this temperature, rhizobia strains from temperate or tropical regions are dormant, do not grow, and possibly might not survive…In other studies of rhizobia, scientists found that strains from within thesame country differed in their adaptation to climate.”

To learn more about rhizobia bacteria, read the entire post here: https://soilsmatter.wordpress.com/2019/08/01/can-soil-microbes-adapt-to-different-climates-and-regions

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