Microbial community and activity shifts after soil transplantation in a glacier forefield

The majority of Alpine glaciers are currently receding because of global warming. Their forefields have become interesting sites to study primary microbial colonisation and microbial adaptation. Here, the structure and enzyme activity of microbial communities in exposed rock substrates and their changes in a gradient of temperature and soil moisture conditions within the forefield of the Damma glacier in the Swiss Central Alps are discussed. The...