Objective
Soil is Earth’s largest organic carbon reservoir. A small shift in soil organic carbon (SOC) can profoundly impact global climate. At the heart of these processes are soil heterotrophic microbes, whose C allocation is a fundamental yet poorly quantified driver of SOC dynamics. Current studies focus almost exclusively on C allocated to replicative growth (cell division), overlooking two essential non-replicative growth processes: the synthesis of intracellular storage compounds (ISC) and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). These processes are vital for microbial survival under environmental stress and can account for up to 3% of SOC. Critically, no method currently exists to simultaneously measure in situ C allocated to these processes, limiting our ability to predict their contribution to SOC dynamics.
This is where Grow-C steps in. Grow-C will uncover in situ microbial C allocation patterns and how they shift under environmental stress and adapt to long-term climate change. It will pioneer a water-based stable isotope probing (D2O-SIP) method to quantify, for the first time, in situ rate-based C allocation to replicative growth, ISC, and EPS within a single incubation. With this methodological advance, Grow-C will reveal microbial C allocation strategies under short-term heat and drought stress in laboratory incubations and decipher long-term adaptive responses in field experiments (with >18 years of recurrent drought and >60 years of sustained warming). I hypothesize that stress shifts C allocation from replicative growth to survival strategies, with short-term stress favoring ISC and long-term adaptation promoting EPS production. By integrating non-replicative growth processes into C allocation, Grow-C will deliver a transformative framework and toolkit for better representing soil microbial processes in carbon–climate feedbacks. It will also enable more accurate predictions of future SOC stocks, addressing an urgent need in the face of climate change.
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 earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
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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.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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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) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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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.