Subsurface, terrestrial microbial ecology and biodegradation of organic chemicals: A review

Abstract

Studies of the microbiology of subsurface environments provide new scientific challenges and test the limits of currently existing methodologies. It is increasingly clear that highly diverse microbial populations with a broad array of metabolic capabilities exist in an environment that was considered devoid of life until the last few decades. This diversity is, in part, related to the complexity and heterogeneity of the environmental matrix itself. Although these complexities make it difficult to predict microbial processes, such as biodegradation, the subsurface provides a unique system for the study of interactions among microbial populations and interactions of microbes with their environment. This review covers the early stages of subsurface microbial ecology and the transition to the more detailed investigations now being initiated. Further research in subsurface microbiology will provide a broader scientific basis for applications of bioremediation and the prediction of the fate and transport of organic chemicals.

Key words:

• biodegradation
• subsurface microbiology
• microbial ecology
• organic chemical contamination
• ground water contamination
• microbial adaptation
• in situ bioremediation
• redox conditions
• environmental factors
• fate and transport