Glossary of Soil Science Terms
TERM OF THE WEEK
facultative organism: An organism that can carry out both options of a mutually exclusive process (e.g., aerobic and anaerobic metabolism). May also be used in reference to other processes, such as photosynthesis (e.g., a facultative photosynthetic organism is one that can use either light or the oxidation of organic or inorganic compounds as a source of energy).