Molecular Soil Biology 2024, Vol.15, No.4, 193-204 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/msb 193 Review and Progress Open Access Life in the Desert: How Food Chains Sustain Arid Ecosystems Jiayao Zhou, Shiying Yu Institute of Life Science, Jiyang College of Zhejiang A&F University, Zhuji, 311800, China Corresponding email: shiying.yu@jicat.org Molecular Soil Biology, 2024, Vol.15, No.4 doi: 10.5376/msb.2024.15.0020 Received: 03 Jul., 2024 Accepted: 05 Aug., 2024 Published: 22 Aug., 2024 Copyright © 2024 Zhou and Yu, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Zhou J.Y., and Yu S.Y., 2024, Life in the desert: how food chains sustain arid ecosystems, Molecular Soil Biology, 15(4): 193-204 (doi: 10.5376/msb.2024.15.0020) Abstract This study explores how the food chain maintains arid ecosystems, focusing on primary production, microbial interactions, and human effects in desert environments. Key discoveries include the differential contributions of chemosynthetic and photosynthetic bacteria to primary production across aridity gradients, with Actinobacteria playing a significant role in carbon fixation and energy acquisition in hyper-arid soils. Additionally, desert microbes associated with plants have been identified as potential bio-fertilizers and bio-control agents, enhancing plant growth and soil fertility in extreme conditions. The efficiency of food webs in desert streams was found to be influenced by environmental factors such as flash floods, light, and nutrient availability, with a notable decoupling of energy flow from primary producers to higher trophic levels. Furthermore, the removal of Aboriginal people from the Western Desert of Australia has led to significant changes in ecological networks, highlighting the critical role of humans in maintaining ecosystem resilience. These findings underscore the complex interplay between microbial communities, environmental factors, and human activities in sustaining arid ecosystems. The study highlights the importance of microbial diversity and human involvement in promoting ecosystem productivity and resilience in desert environments. Keywords Arid ecosystems; Primary production; Chemosynthetic bacteria; Photosynthetic bacteria; Desert microbes; Food web efficiency; Ecological networks; Human impact 1 Introduction Desert ecosystems are characterized by extreme arid conditions, which necessitate continuous adaptations from the organismal level to the landscape scale. These ecosystems are home to unique flora and fauna that have evolved to survive in harsh environments with low water availability, high temperatures, and nutrient-poor soils (Quoreshi et al., 2022). Despite their resilience, desert ecosystems face significant stress due to climate change, rising temperatures, and anthropogenic factors, which threaten their biodiversity and ecological functions (Leung et al., 2020; Quoreshi et al., 2022). The dynamic nature of desert ecosystems, with irregular precipitation and nutrient cycling, further complicates the survival and productivity of these biotas (Crawford and Gosz, 1982). Understanding food chains in arid environments is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it provides insights into the trophic dynamics and energetic mechanisms that underpin the survival of organisms in these challenging conditions (Leung et al., 2020). Microbial communities, for instance, play a vital role in nutrient cycling and energy conservation, which are essential for maintaining ecosystem stability (Leung et al., 2020; Osborne et al., 2020). Secondly, studying food webs in extreme environments helps us understand community-wide responses to environmental pressures, which is vital for the future management and conservation of these ecosystems (Moran et al., 2019). Additionally, the interactions between plants, microbes, and animals in desert ecosystems can offer valuable information for sustainable agriculture and restoration efforts in arid regions (Alsharif et al., 2020; Dabravolski and Isayenkov, 2022). This study aims to synthesize the current knowledge on the food chains that sustain arid ecosystems. Specifically, it will examine the adaptations and survival strategies of organisms in desert ecosystems, analyze the trophic dynamics and energy flow within desert food webs, assess the role of microbial communities in nutrient cycling and ecosystem functioning, and evaluate the implications of these findings for the conservation and management of these ecosystems.
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