N2O-producers of Mongolian Permafrost Soils
Mongolia has a very low population density. Some of the
terrestrial ecosystems of Mongolia are pristine and have not been
subjected to anthropogenic disturbance. Thus, the soils of these
terrestrial habitats might harbor microbiota that are not identical
(either quantitatively or qualitatively) to those of soils from more
heavily populated, and thus disturbed, environments. Permafrost
soils from two field sites (forest and grassland) are under
investigation. The four main goals of this project are to (a)
determine the potentials of permafrost soils to produce the greenhouse
gas N2O, (b) resolve the N2O-producing microorganisms,
(c) determine
which in situ factors regulate the emission of N2O, and (d)
isolate and
characterize novel N2O-producing
microorganisms. Both molecular
and classic approaches are integrated in the project.
Other RESEARCH AREAS