A recent study has found that bacterial communities are thriving in the subsurface layers of the Earth’s biocrusts. Biocrusts are thin layers of soil found on the surface of land, and they are crucial for numerous ecosystem functions, such as water retention, nutrient cycling, and plant and soil stabilization. The researchers studied the bacterial communities of biocrust samples from the deserts of Utah in the United States, and they found that the communities were surprisingly diverse and abundant. This means that these communities are capable of playing a significant role in the functioning of the biocrusts. The study’s findings are significant because they demonstrate that the subsurface layers of the biocrust are not only able to host a vast range of bacterial communities, but they are also important for the functioning of the entire ecosystem.

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source: Phys.org