Effect of climate change on microbial diversity and its functional attributes

Abstract Microorganisms are ubiquitous in nature and exhibit great diversity in various ecosystems. They are necessary for all life on the earth, because they perform many important functions, for example, nutrient recycling, crop fertility, detoxification of pollutants, regulation of carbon storage, production and absorption of greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrogen oxides. Climate change can have a significant impact on the abundance, diversity, and activity of microorganisms, which is often associated with the loss of soil carbon, changes in the level of greenhouse gases in the environment. Although many studies have been conducted for higher organisms, the effects of microbes on climate change and their activities remains neglected. In this chapter, we explore the recent advances in our understanding of how microbes affect living ecosystems and how microbial diversity is affected by climate change.