Soil bacteria. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM). Bacteria in the soil are directly tied to nutrient recycling especially carbon, nitrogen,

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Soil bacteria. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM). Bacteria in the soil are directly tied to nutrient recycling especially carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur. Bacteria are a major class of microorganisms that keep soils healthy and productive. A teaspoon of productive soil generally contains between one hundred million and one billion bacteria. That is as much mass as two cows per acre. A ton of bacteria may be active in each acre. Bacteria make up both the largest number and biomass (weight) of any soil microorganism. Magnification: x8000, when printed 10 centimetres wide.

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Size: 4572px × 3918px
Photo credit: © STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: bacteria, bacterial, bacteriology, bacterium, cell, cells, coloured, decay, earth, false-coloured, gram, gram-positive, ground, infectious, micro-organism, micro-organisms, microbe, microbes, microbiological, microbiology, multiple, pathogen, pathogenic, pathogens, positive, rod-shaped, saprotroph, saprotrophic, saprotrophs, sem, soil