Microbial Ecology & Eco Systems

Subsurface Microbial life

The largest communities of living organisms can’t be found on land or sea- they are underground, beneath the land and seafloor surface. A broad range of microorganisms populate the subsurface environment. Some exist in extreme environments, where nutrients are scarce and temperatures extreme. Others carry out important biological or geochemical processes that alter their surroundings, such as breaking down pollutants or changing the mineral content of groundwater.