![]() The movement has continued to grow, with more than 21,000 scientists endorsing the warning. In 2017, 25 years later, the second warning was issued in a publication signed by more than 15,000 scientists 5. In 1992, 1,700 scientists signed the first warning, raising awareness that human impact puts the future of the living world at serious risk 267. The Alliance of World Scientists and the Scientists’ Warning movement was established to alert humanity to the impacts of human activities on global climate and the environment. Unless we appreciate the importance of microbial processes, we fundamentally limit our understanding of Earth’s biosphere and response to climate change and thus jeopardize efforts to create an environmentally sustainable future 6 (Box 1). ![]() In this Consensus Statement, we illustrate the links between microorganisms, macroscopic organisms and climate change, and put humanity on notice that the microscopic majority can no longer be the unseen elephant in the room. ![]() ![]() Their immense diversity and varied responses to environmental change make determining their role in the ecosystem challenging. Microorganisms date back to the origin of life on Earth at least 3.8 billion years ago, and they will likely exist well beyond any future extinction events.Īlthough microorganisms are crucial in regulating climate change, they are rarely the focus of climate change studies and are not considered in policy development. Microorganisms live in all environments on Earth that are occupied by macroscopic organisms, and they are the sole life forms in other environments, such as the deep subsurface and ‘extreme’ environments. Microorganisms have key roles in carbon and nutrient cycling, animal (including human) and plant health, agriculture and the global food web. Although human effects on microorganisms are less obvious and certainly less characterized, a major concern is that changes in microbial biodiversity and activities will affect the resilience of all other organisms and hence their ability to respond to climate change 9. While invisible to the naked eye and thus somewhat intangible 7, the abundance (~10 30 total bacteria and archaea) 8 and diversity of microorganisms underlie their role in maintaining a healthy global ecosystem: simply put, the microbial world constitutes the life support system of the biosphere. By contrast, microorganisms are generally not discussed in the context of climate change (particularly the effect of climate change on microorganisms). Losses of species, communities and habitats are comparatively well researched, documented and publicized 6. Human activities and their effects on the climate and environment cause unprecedented animal and plant extinctions, cause loss in biodiversity 1, 2, 3, 4 and endanger animal and plant life on Earth 5. Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 17, pages 569–586 ( 2019) Cite this article Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change
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