Project description
The interrelationships among soil fauna, microbial necromass and soil carbon dynamics
The carbon content of dead microbes and their remnants – microbial necromass – plays an essential role in soil organic carbon accumulation and carbon persistence (soil carbon sequestration). The soil microbiome is modulated by soil micro- and mesofauna but environmental changes are altering these relationships with unknown impact. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the Soil Fauna MIND project will manipulate the size and type of soil fauna, and the experimental temperature, and evaluate carbon stability and newly formed microbial necromass as an indicator of soil carbon persistence. Insights could shed light on the interrelationships among soil fauna, trophic interactions, microbial necromass, and soil carbon dynamics and sequestration.
Objective
Increasing soil carbon (C) sequestration is critical to mitigate climate change while supporting food security and reversing land degradation. Soil microbial necromass, i.e. dead microbes, has received increasing attention as significantly contributing to stable soil C. The microbiome itself is controlled by soil fauna, through two main trophic groups: microbivores, directly affecting its size and composition, and litter decomposers, modulating its access to resources. However, on-going environmental changes are altering trophic relationships and how this will impact microbial dynamics and C persistence is highly uncertain. My novel contribution to science will be to integrate soil micro- and mesofauna as a dynamic modulator of the soil microbiome, controlling microbial necromass and C persistence. To achieve this, I will manipulate soil micro- and mesofauna in microcosms experiments following two complimentary approaches, i.e. manipulation based on (1) size or (2) trophic classes. I will track the incorporation of 13C-labelled root litter into microbial biomass and necromass and compare microbial growth and carbon use efficiency, in the presence or absence of different soil faunal groups. After one year of incubation, I will measure C stability indicators (mineral-associated and occluded C, bulk δ15N) as well as newly formed microbial necromass to estimate soil C persistence. The experiment will be carried out at two different temperatures (ambient vs 5 °C increase) in a full factorial design to determine how the faunal control of the microbiome might change under future climate conditions. My MSCA project will shed light on the importance of soil fauna and trophic interactions for microbial necromass and soil C dynamics, a crucial approach in harnessing the potential for soil C sequestration and implementing effective management strategies.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencessoil sciences
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomolecules
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiological behavioural sciencesethologybiological interactions
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiology
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Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinator
1011 JV AMSTERDAM
Netherlands