Lecture series in Ecology and Environmental Research WS 2010/11

Do microbe-habitat interactions affect the relationship between microbial diversity and carbon dynamics in soil?

Eingeladen durch Prof Kuzyakov.

Microbial communities exist and are active in a complex 3-D physical framework which can cause a variety of micro-environments to develop that are more or less suitable for microbial growth, activity and survival. If there is a significant microbial biogeography at the pore scale in soil, then the relationship between microbial diversity and ecosystem function is likely to be affected by micro-environmental variations at the pore scale. Most studies are carried out at scales far greater then the microhabitat (e.g. using 1 to 10 grams of soil) and, de facto, assume that variation at the microhabitat scale is not relevant to understanding C dynamics. In this presentation I will suggest that this is not a wise path to follow. I will show that microbial community structure and C turnover are both related to pore size class, suggesting that the local habitat plays a regulatory role in community development and C dynamics. I will also show, using statistical methods, that a better understanding of the relationship between microbial diversty and c dynamics can be obtained by accounting for the interactions at the microhabitat scale.

• Announcement (pdf)