Descrizione del progetto
In che modo il suolo viene influenzato dalla siccità estrema
Durante il 2018, temperature estive da record e periodi di siccità prolungati hanno portato gran parte dell’Europa centrale a essere devastata dalla siccità. Gli esperti meteorologi temono che ciò possa ripetersi o addirittura venire superato nei prossimi anni poiché condizioni di siccità estreme non lasciano una scia di distruzione solo in superficie. Il progetto DRYSOM, finanziato dall’UE, esaminerà ciò che sta accadendo sottoterra. Studierà gli effetti della siccità estiva ricorrente sulla dinamica a lungo termine della sostanza organica del suolo (SOM, Soil Organic Matter). La ricerca sarà condotta nell’ambito di un esperimento di irrigazione della durata di 15 anni in una foresta secca di querce e pini.
Obiettivo
Severe drought periods are predicted to increase in Central Europe. The increasing frequency of drought will affect the growth and carbon (C) storage in forests. While drought effects have intensively been studied for plants, much less is known about their impact on soil processes. Soils store more C than atmosphere and vegetation together, and contribute to CO2 removal and thus to mitigate climate change.
The proposed project aims to estimate how reoccurring summer drought affects long-term dynamics of soil organic matter (SOM) in forest soils. Our research will be carried out in a unique 15-year-long irrigation experiment in a dry oak and pine forest. The project will advance the knowledge and improve its transfer between disciplines by (1) tracing C inputs and fluxes from roots and mycorrhiza into soils and losses of ‘old’ SOM by applying novel isotopic approaches, and relating these changes to soil microbiota analyzed by DNA, (2) determining drought impacts on SOM stability and its sources by innovative marker molecules approaches in SOM pools, and (3) linking these results ecosystem properties measured by collaborating research groups. The use of a long-term experimental set up, together with novel techniques, will offer a unique opportunity to identify the unknown drought-induced effects on belowground C cycling at long time scales. These results will be important for facing current climate change impacts, and will be communicated not only to scientists but also to policy makers and to a wider public.
The project will enhance the researcher’s skills in cutting-edge methodologies and techniques, boost teaching and writing skills and increase communication competences, through an ad-hoc spectrum of training activities. As such, future career opportunities will highly improve and the fellowship will be a key milestone for the researcher to become an independent and leading scientist in research on SOM dynamics in forests under long-term drought.
Campo scientifico
Parole chiave
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Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
8903 Birmensdorf
Svizzera