FT ICRMS analysis of soil and dissolved organic matter to quantify links between microbial community composition and the concomitant CO2 and CH4 production mechanisms
EMSL Project ID
48740
Abstract
Currently the role of microbial community dynamics in controlling carbon cycling in boreal peatlands is poorly understood. Hodgkins et al. (2014 and in prep) showed that CO2:CH4 concentration ratios and stable isotopes (delta13C) of CO2 and CH4 in incubation experiments match those observed in the field. This result, though encouraging, is surprising given the physical and chemical (i.e. introduction of molecular oxygen) disturbance to the samples during collection, transport, and the initial setup of the incubations and suggests that either 1) the microbial community in these samples is incredibly robust to these disturbances or 2) that the specific microbial community composition is less important to CO2 and CH4 production mechanisms than the composition of the available substrate or the physico-chemical characteristics of the site. To test which of these two alternatives is correct we have designed an incubation experiment replicating Hogkins et al.’s (2014) procedures to incubate peat samples from 5 different habitat × depth combinations. This time, however, we will explicitly monitor the microbial community via genomic techniques and the composition of the available organic carbon substrates via FTIR, EEMS, SUVA, and FTICR-MS.This experiment is designed to test the direct links between microbial community composition and the concomitant CO2 and CH4 production mechanisms which could prove a critical parameter in global carbon budget modeling.
Project Details
Start Date
2015-02-10
End Date
2015-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Co-Investigator(s)
Related Publications
Tfaily MM, RM Wilson, WT Cooper, JE Kostka, PJ Hanson, and J Chanton. 2018. "Vertical Stratification of Peat Pore Water Dissolved Organic Matter composition in a peat bog in Northern Minnesota." Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences 123(2):, doi:10.1002/2017JG004007