by Matteo Cavallito<\/p>\n
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Urbanization impacts diversity of microbes<\/strong> but with divergent effects on bacteria<\/strong> and fungi<\/strong>. Bacteria, in fact, tend to homogenize while fungi retain greater ecological specialization. This was revealed in a study<\/a> published in Environmental Science and Ecotechnology. The investigation involved experts from Shanghai<\/strong> (Jiao Tong) and Helsinki<\/strong> universities.<\/p>\n \u201cUrban land use typically disturbs soil structure, increases soil nutrient concentrations, elevates heavy metal levels, and degrades and fragments habitats, thereby favoring species adapted to these altered conditions,\u201d the research explains. \u201cAdditionally, urbanization often homogenizes species assemblages\u201d. A phenomenon, the authors explain, that involves every species.<\/p>\n