The functional role of microbial diversity in terrestrial ecosystems

加拿大的森林和泥炭地在土壤有机质中储存了大量的大气碳，与大气交换温室气体，拥有巨大的生物多样性，并支持森林产品和其他自然资源产业。土壤微生物群落在森林和泥炭地生态系统中发挥着重要作用，因此：本研究的目的是阐明1）微生物多样性和群落结构的控制和2）微生物群落与生态地球化学循环之间的联系。这项研究将有助于确定在什么情况下特定微生物群落的特征可以提高我们预测生态系统动态的能力的重要框架。 项目将包括1）对微生物群落动态和相关生物地球化学过程的时间密集型研究（养分和碳循环和温室气体通量）在中部安大略森林和泥炭地网站;一套土壤核心移植实验，以帮助确定微生物群落的作用与环境条件驱动重要的生态系统过程; 2）鉴定负责粗木质残体分解的真菌和细菌，粗木质残体是森林的关键生态组成部分，也是研究微生物多样性在生态系统功能中的作用的独特“天然实验室”;以及3）在泥炭地中发现负责甲烷厌氧消耗的未知微生物--这一过程直到最近才被证明可以阻止大量的这种温室气体进入大气。 该研究将作为培训研究生和本科生研究人员询问和回答重要的环境科学问题，同时提供学生和直接参与环境管理的加拿大政府研究合作伙伴之间的独特互动的一个很好的手段。

Canadian forests and peatlands store large amounts of atmospheric carbon in soil organic matter, exchange greenhouse gasses with the atmosphere, contain vast biodiversity, and support forest products and other natural resource industries. Soil microbial communities play many vital roles in forest and peatland ecosystem and thus: The objectives of this research are to elucidate 1) poorly understood controls on microbial diversity and community structure and 2) linkages between microbial communities and biogeochemical cycles. The research will contribute to an important framework of determining in what contexts characterization of specific microbial communities can improve our ability to predict ecosystem dynamics. Projects will include 1) a temporally-intensive study of microbial community dynamics and related biogeochemical processes (nutrient and carbon cycling and greenhouse gas fluxes) in central Ontario forest and peatland sites; a set of soil core transplantation experiments to help determine the role of microbial communities versus environmental conditions driving important ecosystem processes; 2) characterization of fungi and bacteria responsible for the decomposition of coarse woody debris, a key ecological component of forests, but also a unique "natural laboratory" for studying the role of microbial diversity in ecosystem functioning; and 3) discovery of unknown microorganisms responsible for the anaerobic consumption of methane in peatlands- a process that has only just recently been shown to keep vast amounts of this greenhouse gas from reaching the atmosphere. The research will serve as an excellent means for training graduate and undergraduate student researchers to ask and answer important environmental science questions while providing unique interactions between students and Canadian government research partners directly involved in environmental management.