Objective
Soil microorganisms are essential drivers of ecosystem processes in drylands that cover ~40% of the Earth’s landmasses. It is widely accepted that microbial activity in arid deserts is confined to rare, short and unpredictable rain pulses. Yet, water could be available for soil microorganism by other processes, such as dew formation, fog deposition and water vapor adsorption. These so-called non-rain water inputs represent significant sources of water, as they are more frequent and reliable. Yet, it is unknown if desert soil microorganism can utilize these water sources for reactivation, nor the associated microbial activities they facilitate and their overall contribution to microbial-driven ecosystem processes.
WinMicAct will challenge the rain-centered view of desert microbial activity. I hypothesize that desert microbial communities can use the minute water input provided by non-rain water for reactivation. WinMicAct pushes the boundaries of molecular omics and microbial activity analysis to detect reactivation down to the lowest possible water availabilities. Utilizing spatial upscaling, WinMicAct will estimate the contribution of these microbial activities (respiration, CO2 and N2 fixation) to the ecosystem level. WinMicAct will further reveal the importance of different water sources for survival and thus maintaining desert soil biodiversity that is crucial for ecosystem functioning. Finally, WinMicAct is highly relevant in light of climate change, as future scenarios predict changing patterns of rain and non-rain water inputs. With the knowledge gained in this project on microbial processes driven by the different water sources under climate change predictions, WinMicAct provides the foundation for future investigations and modeling of climate change effects on dryland ecosystem processes. Together, WinMicAct will generate ground-breaking knowledge on non-rain water driving microbial activities and will be a major step forward in arid ecosystem research.
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. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-ADG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1010 Wien
Austria
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.