Microbial communities and biogeochemistry in the rhizosphere
The rhizosphere is the most active region in the soil where intimate interactions between plant roots and soil organisms stimulate a host of critical ecosystem-level biogeochemical processes, many of which feedback to enhance plant fitness. The goals of these projects are to evaluate and identify plant-microbe relationships that influence nutrient cycling, transformation and movement of soil carbon, and plant fitness.
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Microscale redox reactions impacting the coupled cycling of dissolved organic matter and phosphorus
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Influence of different arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal families on soil carbon
Soil organic matter (SOM) transformations and stabilization mechanisms
SOM provides the energy (usually carbon) and nutrients needed for an active and diverse soil food web and to support plant productivity. How SOM accumulates and is transformed is a result of complex interactions between the soil environment and the soil biota. Our research in this area aims to better understand how global change and agricultural management impact these interactions and the subsequent effects on SOM accumulation and stabilization. We are particularly interested in linking microbial community assembly, metabolism, and functional traits to SOM chemistry and accumulation.
We are examining this under a variety of systems including laboratory incubations, Canadian permafrost peatlands, and agroecosystems.
Global change, agriculture, and soil processes
Environmental change, whether its related to climate or land-use management, often alters critical soil ecosystem services. Following disturbances or system-wide alterations, soil processes may exhibit resiliency, adapt over time, or reach a new equilibrium. Understanding how soils responds to environment change is critical to predicting how soils will function under future climate and land-use scenarios . We have several ongoing projects that are seeking to better understand how soil carbon and nutrient cycling and the microbial communities driving these cycles respond to environmental change to find ways to minimize future threats to soil services.
Some of the factors we are considering include:
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Intermittent flooding of agroecosystems
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Transitioning to covercrops and perennial forage
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Manipulated drought and drought legacies
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Climate warming along permafrost peatland thaw gradients
