Bioturbation is the physical reworking and mixing of soils or sediments by living organisms, such as infaunal invertebrates, plant roots, and burrowing vertebrates, which alters sediment structure, porosity, and geochemical gradients. As a sedimentary phenomenon, it modifies depositional fabrics, enhances particle and solute transport, and influences diagenetic pathways by redistributing organic matter and electron acceptors. Bioturbation affects redox zonation, nutrient cycling, and preservation potential of sedimentary structures, body fossils, and chemical signatures, thereby playing a critical role in benthic ecosystem functioning, trace fossil formation, and interpretation of paleoenvironmental and stratigraphic records.
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