Will Climate Change Alter the Efficiency of Bioremediation?

Abstract

The twenty-first century is marked with challenges such as increasing industrialization, clearing up of natural ecosystems, environmental pollution and rise of population in every second. These problems are threatening the delivery of ecosystem services and global food security. Human health is always at risk due to the increasing new diseases related to the exposure to extreme levels of pollutants. Bioremediation utilizes the inherent capacity of the microorganisms to degrade and decontaminate/detoxify the pollutants in the presence of optimum environmental conditions. Although very limited scientific evidences have quantified and reported the direct or indirect effects of climate change on bioremediation, it is highly important to discuss the climate change-related environmental parameters and its associated effects on soil microorganisms involved in bioremediation process. As a change in soil moisture or temperature markedly affects the crucial soil processes such as decomposition of soil organic matter and nutrient cycling, it will definitely affect the soil microbial activities. Therefore, with this background, this chapter discusses an overview of bioremediation, environmental factors that affect bioremediation and the possible effects of climate change on bioremediation