Archaea in dry soil environments

Archaea belong to the least well known major group of soil inhabiting microbes as the concept of the very existence of the archaea was introduced only in 1977 and the domain of Archaea established in 1990. The first reports of finding these organisms in soils were published even later. This paper will review the research carried out of the archaea in dry moderate soil environments. It will particularly consider the specific habitats where the archaea live in soils, as well as their associations with other organisms. There is thus far relatively little knowledge about the metabolism of the soil archaea, but the knowledge about their exact habitats and associations as well as their genetic potential point the way to discovering more about the different soil archaeal functions.