Abstract
Vast regions of the Earth’s surface are arid, characterized by sparse vegetation and dominated by dry and barren soil surfaces. Microbial life in these soils must survive long periods of severe desiccation that are interspersed by infrequent rainfall events. The soil microbial communities must utilize any available water, even the mild wetting of the soil surface by morning dew or incoming fog that accommodates a swift response by the phototrophs. In contrast, major rain events demand drastic modifications of the soil microbiome activity, structure, and interactions. In this chapter, we review the microbial response to hydration and desiccation cycles that characterize desert ecosystems and the resulting dynamics in microbial community composition and activity. These wetting cycles are reflected in terrestrial microbiome ecological functions and provide new insights into the mechanisms that sustain the microbial communities in arid soils.
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Štovícek, A., Gillor, O. (2022). The Response of Soil Microbial Communities to Hydration and Desiccation Cycles in Hot Desert Ecosystems. In: Ramond, JB., Cowan, D.A. (eds) Microbiology of Hot Deserts. Ecological Studies, vol 244. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98415-1_11
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