Drought's Impact on Soil Microbes: A Tale of Fungi's Resilience

What happens to microbes in our soil when the weather gets funky? Scientists decided to find out by designing a cool experiment. They made it rain less and heated things up a bit, just like climate change might do. They even added some heavy oxygen and hydrogen to track what the microbes were doing. Guess what? Bacteria struggled, but fungi were tough! They stayed active even when it was super dry. In fact, they started storing more fat, like a survival strategy.Overall, the microbes didn't use carbon differently during drought, but when it got hotter, they kind of burned through carbon faster. It's like they were partying before the rain stopped. This shows that not all microbes are the same and understanding their tricks can help us understand how soil carbon moves and affects our climate.