SGER: Microbial Processes in Tundra Ecosystems Under Simulated Climate Change Conditions

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Climate change models suggest that major shifts in carbon storage may occur, especially in northern latitudes where greater than 1/3 of the earth's carbon pool is stored. This project seeks to understand how microbial communities in Arctic tundra soils are changed by long ( 20 years) and short ( 1 year) term manipulation of nutrients and temperature at the Toolik Lake, AK, long term ecological research station. Microbial community structure and function likely play critical roles in determining carbon storage vs. release in tundra soils. Use of a novel molecular method combined with standard microbial physiological profiling will provide an unprecedented level of detail about tundra soil microbial community structure and function. Understanding how changes in climatic forcing factors affect microbial populations will refine predictions of carbon dynamics relative to existing trends in global change. Changes found in this study may also reflect past climate change events, allowing improved characterization of the geological record. This proposal will ground truth an emerging molecular technique for application in microbial ecology and generate supporting material for future studies in microbial responses to climate change.