Diversity of Greenhouse Gas Producing and Mitigating Microbes in Soil

Climate change and global warming are serious threats to our planet, affecting millions of people and economic development. They are the result of excess emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), which escalate the greenhouse effect (GE). GHGs are emitted to the atmosphere through natural biogeochemical cycles induced by different groups of organisms present in both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, which are essential for maintaining balance with the environment. However, the abrupt rise in human population has disrupted natural biogeochemical cycles and led to additional emissions from anthropogenic activities, resulting in more emissions than absorption. The anthropogenic sources of GHGs to the atmosphere, induced by the rapid increase in human population, are industrialization, transportation, heat and electricity production, manufacturing and construction, and industrial processes. Emissions from the soil ecosystem are solely due to the activities of organisms that inhabit the soil, and their emission rates rely on some important abiotic factors, especially pH, oxygen level, nutrient load, and carbon. The major GHGs associated with GE, emitted from both natural and artificial sources, include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and fluorinated gases. Organisms not only emit GHGs, but they also absorb these gases for their metabolic pathways. Different soil microbes depend on specific substrates for their growth and development. Soil is teeming with different organisms and is by far the most biologically diverse part of Earth. The majority of important organisms in soil have yet to be explored. Exploring organisms that can utilize potent GHGs is a possible option to mitigate climate change. There are soil microorganisms that can utilize highly potent GHGs and reduce them to something that is no longer a GHG.