Bacteria

Bacteria in the model serve three distinct ecological roles: chemoautotrophic nitrification (converting ammonium to nitrate), heterotrophic decomposition (breaking down dissolved organic matter and detritus), and a sequence of obligate-anaerobe sediment guilds that consume the diagenetic ladder of buried electron acceptors. Aerobic bacteria form part of the microbial loop that recycles organic matter back into forms usable by primary producers; the anaerobic guilds run a parallel pathway in the soil pore zone — see Microbes: Anaerobic sediment microbes.

Species

• Nitrifying Bacteria
• Heterotrophic Bacteria
• Denitrifier, Iron-reducer, Sulfate-reducer, Methanogen — covered in the Microbes: Anaerobic sediment microbes overview rather than in dedicated species pages, since the four anaerobic guilds share a common ecology and only differ in which terminal electron acceptor they respire.