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The soil beneath our feet still requires more exploration, although we know that it is home to a vast number of organisms. It is basically a black box we cannot see into to observe its inhabitants and the processes they contribute to. In this article, we will tell you about soils that are even less explored. We are talking about mountain soils at high elevation: they are not easily accessible but harbor many exciting species, some of which are specialized to live only in mountain soils. We are a

What is a dryland? The first thing that may come to your mind is a desert-like place where nothing can live or grow. Despite the scarcity of water, dryland ecosystems are diverse and will expand due to global climate change. The main cause of global warming is the increase of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. To solve this, we obviously need to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, but the study of microorganisms in nature also gives us exciting clues for how to address the problem of global

The belowground world is full of creatures that depend on plants as a food source. Belowground plant eaters, or herbivores, feed on roots and can cause considerable damage to plants. Roots are very important because they help plants take up water and nutrients from the soil. These are important resources that plants need for growth. To protect their roots, plants produce chemical defenses. The production of these defenses is costly because nutrients and energy used to make defenses cannot be use