Deserts are of global distribution; they cover considerable areas of all continents, with the exception of Europe. Desert soils are poor in organic substances and water, and are usually subjected to rather high temperature in summer and chilling in winter, and to extensive light. In spite of their extreme character, desert soils usually accommodate communities of micro-organisms including actinomycetes, cyanobacteria and other bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and phototrophic microalgae. Many of such micro-organisms live naturally under stress, and must possess special adaptive mechanisms in order to survive and propagate (see Chapter 2). Desert micro—organisms appear to be limited in their physiological activities due to low availability of certain nutrients, according to Liebig's “law of the minimum” (Liebig 1840).
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Radwan, S. (2008). Microbiology of Oil-Contaminated Desert Soils and Coastal Areas in the Arabian Gulf Region. In: Dion, P., Nautiyal, C.S. (eds) Microbiology of Extreme Soils. Soil Biology, vol 13. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74231-9_13
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