SurfinSoil - Surfaces in soil predict bacterial functioning
Soil carbon dynamics are mainly driven by bacterial activity and the carbon stored largely consists of remnants of decomposed microbial biomass. However, unifying principles for microbial activity and carbon turnover in soil remain elusive, which largely stems from limitations of measuring relevant processes at the micrometre scale. In this project we aim to zoom into microbial habitats and to shed new light (X-Rays) on microbial density within soil pores.
The opacity of soil prevents a direct observation of soil microbes within their environment, the soil pore space. Soil pores form complex labyrinths through heterogenous soil matrix consisting of mainly sand, silt, clay minerals and organic matter. Pore surfaces provide space for bacterial attachment, and this habitable surface influences bacterial proliferation, interaction, and functioning. In this project, we will focus on the bacterial perspective by merging advanced soil physical imaging with microbial ecology. We will acquire quantitative information on the habitable pore surfaces at the micrometre scale, at which bacteria operate, and relate surface area to bacterial abundance. Simultaneous measurements of microbial activity parameters will allow us to test whether soil bacterial functioning can be predicted from physicochemical parameters and bacterial density. This multidisciplinary approach will allow us to obtain hitherto unavailable data on bacterial spatial ecology and may help to develop a novel predictor for bacterial functioning in soil.
Vincent Felde
Cooperation partners
- Stephan Handschuh, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna (Microtomography - data acquisition)
- Vincent Felde, University of Hannover, Germany (Microtomography - data evaluation)