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Linking soil microbial community traits to the soil storage potential of dissolved organic carbon from surface plant litter


EMSL Project ID
49834

Abstract

The ground is an enormous reservoir of organic carbon (1,2). The concentration and residence time of carbon in soil varies with depth (1). The largest concentration of carbon is at the surface where plant litter occurs, but the residence time is only a few years. The concentration of carbon declines with depth, but the residence time increases to thousands of years (1,3). Through a DOE-BER Science Focus Area (SFA) grant, we are deciphering links between soil carbon storage and traits of microbial communities that decompose the large inputs of plant litter at the soil surface. Current studies examine microbial community traits/signatures linked with the quantity of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) released during decomposition. We propose to broaden the scope through collaboration with EMSL, to examine community traits linked to DOC quality, which also contributes significantly to soil carbon storage.

Project Details

Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
Start Date
2017-10-01
End Date
2018-09-30
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

John Dunbar
Institution
Los Alamos National Laboratory

Co-Investigator(s)

Cheryl Kuske
Institution
Los Alamos National Laboratory

Team Members

Renee Johansen
Institution
Los Alamos National Laboratory