When glaciers disappear, the bugs move in (ENN) - 0 views
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Jeff Johnson on 28 Aug 08We've all been stunned by images showing the dramatic retreat of mountain glaciers. Yet few of us have given much thought to what happens next. Now the first study to look at how life invades soil immediately after mountain glaciers melt has an answer. Primitive bacteria step in to colonise the area, enrich the soil with nutrients, and even cement the ground, preventing landslides, say researchers who have studied the process in the Peruvian Andes.