Global warming and bacteria Free Essay Example, 1250 words

Fungi and soil bacteria commonly known as the decomposers, play an essential role, in breaking down the organic carbon and releasing carbon dioxide back in the atmosphere. This carbon dioxide in as much as it causes global warming, but is also harnessed again by plants, to form energy, through the process of photosynthesis. Effects of bacteria on global warming Ruminants, which are animals with four digestive chambers, the largest of the chambers being the rumen, also contribute to global warming. The rumen has millions of microbes including yeasts, bacteria, protozoa and moulds, which break down cellulose, a major component of animal feed. Cellulose is a tough and insoluble Fibre that makes part of the plant cell. The ruminants cannot break down cellulose directly, because they lack the essential required digestive juices and enzymes to do so. Therefore, they achieve this via the help of methanogens, which are a group of archaea which habitat in the rumen. These microbes specialize in breaking the animal food into methane gas. The animal then ejects this gas through belching, on both ends of the digestive tract. We will write a custom essay sample on Global warming and bacteria or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now The produced gas (methane) is a very powerful greenhouse gas because it traps 20 times as much as the same volume of carbon dioxide. This implies that methane warms the earth 20 times as much times as carbon dioxide. Soil as a medium carries microbes in it as well. When temperatures increase, the soil microbial activities also increase, proportionally. The breakdown of carbon materials by decomposing bacteria in the soil increases, thereby producing lots of carbon dioxide as a waste product. It is estimated that soil microbial activity can double when there is a temperature increase of about (5Â °C-10Â °C). When this happens, there is an increase in respiration, a process in which carbon dioxide is released into the environment, as a waste. This carbon dioxide causes global warming as a greenhouse gas. As global warming occurs, temperatures increase and consequently the microbial activities within the soil increase, producing more carbon dioxide. This process is endless, and can continue up to a point in which the temperatures would be too high, and life unsustainable on earth. This clearly indicate the significance of such bacteria in relation to the environment, and the impacts on global war ming at large. Impacts of Global Warming On Bacteria Bacteria present in all living organisms, thrive well in different optimum temperatures, and various optimum conditions, depending on the organism itself, and the part of the organism, in which the bacteria are inhabited.