DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Functional dissimilarity in soil microbial communities

论文研究：土壤微生物群落的功能差异

• 批准号: 0807898
• 负责人: John Gittleman
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-06-01 至 2010-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0807898&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Functional; dissimilarity; soil

The activities of microbes in the soil, such as bacteria, are essential for soil fertility and hence play a central role in maintaining ecosystem productivity and structure. Soils are experiencing an increasing number of insults, from invasive species to land-use change. These insults bring a new set of plant species into contact with soil microbes. Given the tremendous species richness and abundance of soil microbes, ecologists typically assume that microbial communities rapidly adapt to new conditions and hence maintain their essential ecosystem functions in light of changing conditions. However, recent evidence suggests that unique sets of microbial species are found in different locations, just as for animals and plants. This presents the intriguing possibility that microbial species in different locations might function differently. Initial work suggests that this is the case and the work under this new project will explore this result. Specifically, it will use an experimental approach to explore the role that both the contemporary environment and extant microbial communities play in shaping ecosystem function. The expectation is that the community will be more important in environments where plants with complex leaf chemistry, such as trees, are present. The understanding gained will facilitate informed prediction of how soil fertility and other ecosystem properties will change in response to a changing environment. As well as training a Ph.D. student, the work will train an undergraduate student from underrepresented groups in ecology. The results will be broadly disseminated via publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at national meetings.

土壤中微生物（如细菌）的活动对土壤肥力至关重要，因此在维持生态系统生产力和结构方面发挥着核心作用。土壤正在遭受越来越多的侵害，从入侵物种到土地利用变化。这些侮辱使一组新的植物物种与土壤微生物接触。考虑到土壤微生物的物种丰富度和丰度，生态学家通常认为微生物群落能够迅速适应新的环境，从而在环境变化的情况下保持其基本的生态系统功能。然而，最近的证据表明，就像动物和植物一样，在不同的地方发现了独特的微生物物种。这提出了一种有趣的可能性，即不同地点的微生物物种可能具有不同的功能。最初的工作表明，情况就是这样，这个新项目下的工作将探索这一结果。具体来说，它将使用实验方法来探索当代环境和现存微生物群落在塑造生态系统功能中的作用。人们的期望是，在具有复杂叶片化学成分的植物（如树木）存在的环境中，该群落将更加重要。所获得的理解将有助于有根据地预测土壤肥力和其他生态系统特性将如何随着环境变化而变化。除了培养一名博士生外，这项工作还将培养一名来自生态学中代表性不足群体的本科生。研究结果将通过在同行评议的期刊上发表和在国家会议上发表报告的方式广泛传播。