Figure 4
From: A hierarchy of environmental covariates control the global biogeography of soil bacterial richness
Global prediction of bacterial richness delineating spatial patterns of contrasting diversity (R2 = 40%, RMSE = 261.5). Tropics (e.g. Amazon, Congo) and northern higher latitudes (e.g. Siberia) show low bacterial richness. This is potentially linked to increased prevalence of frequently wet soils fostering connectedness of bacterial habitats. Low bacterial richness in deserts (e.g. Sahara, Atacama) is likely due to resource limitation. The highest bacterial richness is found in temperate regions and climatic transition zones (e.g. Sahel).
