OOS 22: Digging Deeper: Understanding The Vital Connections Between Microbial Communities And Global Biogeochemistry Through The Whole Soil Profile

Session Organizer(s)

• Neslihan Taş

  Climate & Ecosystems Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
  Berkeley, CA, USA

Moderator(s)

• Neslihan Taş

  Climate & Ecosystems Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
  Berkeley, CA, USA

Volunteer(s)

• Brianne Palmer

  Plant Science, University of California, Davis
  San Diego, California, United States

Soil microbial communities control many of Earth’s biogeochemical cycles; however, much of what we know about microbial communities is confined to the upper soil layers. Subsoil microbial communities (> 20 cm in depth) present a vital knowledge gap in comprehensive understanding of soil health, biogeochemical cycling, and carbon storage in the face of ongoing global change stressors. Subsoil microbial communities are important because they remain understudied reservoirs of microbial activity. Emerging research shows that, when accounted for, their inclusion could significantly change estimates and models of biogeochemical cycling. Subsoil microbes are taxonomically and functionally distinct from their surface soil counterparts, with adaptations that allow them to survive in resource-limited conditions. We are yet to discover how subsoil microbial communities differ across large climate gradients and how this impacts Earth’s biogeochemical cycles. Furthermore, the responsiveness of subsoil microbial communities to experimental manipulations is undefined. As a variety of global change stressors (e.g., elevated temperatures, enhanced nitrogen deposition, increased wildfire activity) continue to escalate, understanding how the subsoil responds will become increasingly important. Recently, a critical mass of research on the subsoil microbial community has emerged allowing for a synthesis across ecosystems to determine the contribution of subsoil microbial communities to ecosystem functionality at multiple scales. This session aims to “lift up” subsoil microbes and present new opportunities and questions for future work in the subsoil. Given the interdisciplinary nature of this work, this session should be of interest to microbial ecologists, biogeochemists, ecosystem ecologists, and earth system modellers. We encourage participants to “think deeply” about soil microbial communities and join us in this session.

Presentations:

• ON DEMAND

  Adaptation to redox conditions and substrate availability differentiate permafrost microbial communities from across the globe
  

  Presenting Author: Rachel Mackelprang – Biology, California State University, Northridge
• ON DEMAND

  Decomposition and stabilization of organic carbon across soil horizons and parent materials of five sites under deciduous forest
  

  Presenting Author: Michael Kaiser – Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• ON DEMAND

  Deep peat heat: Microbiome dynamics through space and time at the SPRUCE warming experiment
  

  Presenting Author: Christopher W. Schadt – Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• ON DEMAND

  Key drivers of uniformity or change with depth in soils across the US
  

  Presenting Author: Emma L. Aronson – University of California Riverside
• ON DEMAND

  Phyla-wide metabolic capabilities mute positive response to direct and indirect impacts of warming throughout the soil profile
  

  Presenting Author: Nicholas C. Dove – Biosciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• ON DEMAND

  Snowmelt and seasonality influence trade-offs of microbial functional traits in forest soils
  

  Presenting Author: Dawson Fairbanks – University of Arizona