Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Titre : Soil microbial dependence on moisture and responses to extreme drought and rewet events

Date : 1 January 2016–31 December 2018

Identifiant : 2015-00270_Formas

Présentation
Terrestrial ecosystems will be exposed to more extreme fluctuations in precipitation and temperatures generating more intense drought and rainfall events. This will have a profound effect on the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems.

Microbial communities are the agents that control decomposition of organic matter (OM), and thus dominate the terrestrial contribution to the global carbon (C) cycle. Availability of water is one of the strongest controllers of the activity of microorganisms. The microbial community is also dependent on labile C, supplied by plants, creating an important feedback. The overall aim of the project is to understand how the microbial community, and processes they regulate, are influenced by changes in water availability in both experimental model systems and in field-scale experiments in intact ecosystems. This understanding will be used in ecosystem models. The specific aims are : 1. Defining the (i) direct dependence on moisture of microbial processes, and (ii) the response of the microbial community and functions to rewetting a soil system. 2. Determining the legacy effect of drought and dry-wet cycles on (i) the direct microbial dependence on moisture and (ii) the microbial responses to rewetting dry soil. 3. Distinguishing between the influence of the soil microbial community and soil physiochemical factors. 4. Determining how the resource availability controlled by plants can modulate microbial tolerance to drought and rewetting.

Coordination : Lund University

Financement : Formas
Budget : 3,000,000 kr

Swecris project database