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Soil Microscopy Images

Updated: Feb 27

Scientists who study bacteria in soil can take highly magnified images of the bacteria. One image shows small spheres. The small spheres are fungi spores. These fungi spores are growing on plant roots. The other image shows what a soil sample could look like under a microscope. In the soil sample are bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and organic matter.



  1. Look at the images.

  2. Share what you know about these microorganisms with a partner or small group.

  3. Discuss the following question: How does the soil microscopy image help us better understand how carbon is released from the soil?

Credits

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), CC BY-NC-SA 2.0; William Edge/Shutterstock.com

Copyright © 2025 BSCS Science Learning. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

The development of this material was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DRL 2100808. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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