Soils Speed Dating-Top 3 Bachelor/ettes
1. #14-Red alder alters community level microbial function in conifer forests of the Pacific Northwest, USA
a. This research is needed to explore the impacts of different forest types on soil health and microbial activity. The presence of certain trees (Red alder) or lack of them, rather, can have significant impact on the productivity of microbes in the soil, and therefore the soil itself.
b. Soil samples were analyzed for microbial activity and other productivity measures in pure alder stands, pure conifer stands, and mixed conifer-alder stands in the Pacific Northwest.
c. The study found that microbial activity and other soil productivity measures were significantly greater in the pure alder and mixed alder-conifer stands.
d. I’ve seen this research coming for a long time, or rather hoped to see it come out, as I grew up in the Willamette valley and watched over the years as mixed oak, alder, and maple forests were clear cut and then replanted as pure conifer stands. This study provides reasoning to refrain from using this practice, and that in order to maintain productive, healthy soil and enzymes within it, managers should replant mixed deciduous-conifer stands instead of planting monoculture conifer stands.
2. #18- Soil Moisture is the major factor influencing microbial community structure and enzyme activities across seven biogeoclimatic zones in western Canada
a. Because microbial activity partially determines productivity and fertility of a soil, it is important to know what they prefer for habitat and under which conditions they thrive. Other studies demonstrate the effect of different microbes on the soil, but this study examined the impact of soil factors on microbe communities.
b. Intact soil samples were collected from a variety of sites throughout western Canada, and analyzed for a wide array of soil characteristics.
c. Conclusions were made that soil moisture content is the single most important factor in determining microbial biomass and productivity within a soil.
d. Implications of this study extend upon an already known truth; soil health is connected to the amount of moisture it receives. Furthermore, different soil enzymes occur in different forest types, and in turn influence the activity of those different soil types. It was concluded that the right combination of temperature and precipitation provides habitat for the most desirable (highest activity level) enzymes.
3. #15- Response of microbial community composition and function to soil climate change
a. As climate change progresses it is important to understand variances in the ability of different soils to acclimate to such changes. This study looked at the ability of both sub-oak canopy soils and open grassland soils to withstand changes in localized climate. As forests are cleared and grasslands are plowed for agriculture, it should be known to what extent the critical functions in these soils will be affected.
b. Soil cores were taken from open grasslands and moved into sub-oak canopy environment, and cores from sub-oak canopy locations were transferred to open grasslands. For up to two years, both cores were regularly evaluated with microbial analyses tests to see how each was responding to the switch.
c. The study concluded that grassland soils are much more resistant to a change in their environment, and sub-canopy soils experience much higher levels of stress and an overall decrease in function.
d. These findings imply that considerations should be made about the impacts of not only the atmospheric and hydrologic impacts of land clearing, but also the effect land clearing will have on the health of the soil and its ability to function at its full ecological potential. Perhaps instead of clearing a forest in its entirety for pasture, leave a number of broad canopy trees in order to protect the soil from sudden climatic change and allow it to maintain it’s microbial community structure.
All of these studies made an impact on the way I think about land use changes and their subsequent effects on long-term soil activity, productivity, and general health. I have long wondered about significantly altering plant community compositions and what implications this held for soil composition and function. However, I haven’t given as much thought to the effects of climate change on soil communities, as most direct observations involving climate change are experienced above ground, in plant and animal populations. These studies make me consider more in depth the decisions of land managers and what possible threats they pose to soil productivity, both short and long term. Many of these microbial communities can be easily wiped out by significant moisture or temperature regime changes, such as during a forest clearing or damming event. However, the reestablishment and resiliency to change in these microbial populations cannot keep up with our rapid land use changes. What will the future effects of these changes be on soil communities and their health on a long-term scale? Is it possible that the very basis of our ecological function as a planet is at stake because of how we are treating our wild soils? If decomposition falters or is detrimentally impacted to the point where it cannot keep up with death…where will that leave us in a hundred, or a thousand years? I ruminate…
a. This research is needed to explore the impacts of different forest types on soil health and microbial activity. The presence of certain trees (Red alder) or lack of them, rather, can have significant impact on the productivity of microbes in the soil, and therefore the soil itself.
b. Soil samples were analyzed for microbial activity and other productivity measures in pure alder stands, pure conifer stands, and mixed conifer-alder stands in the Pacific Northwest.
c. The study found that microbial activity and other soil productivity measures were significantly greater in the pure alder and mixed alder-conifer stands.
d. I’ve seen this research coming for a long time, or rather hoped to see it come out, as I grew up in the Willamette valley and watched over the years as mixed oak, alder, and maple forests were clear cut and then replanted as pure conifer stands. This study provides reasoning to refrain from using this practice, and that in order to maintain productive, healthy soil and enzymes within it, managers should replant mixed deciduous-conifer stands instead of planting monoculture conifer stands.
2. #18- Soil Moisture is the major factor influencing microbial community structure and enzyme activities across seven biogeoclimatic zones in western Canada
a. Because microbial activity partially determines productivity and fertility of a soil, it is important to know what they prefer for habitat and under which conditions they thrive. Other studies demonstrate the effect of different microbes on the soil, but this study examined the impact of soil factors on microbe communities.
b. Intact soil samples were collected from a variety of sites throughout western Canada, and analyzed for a wide array of soil characteristics.
c. Conclusions were made that soil moisture content is the single most important factor in determining microbial biomass and productivity within a soil.
d. Implications of this study extend upon an already known truth; soil health is connected to the amount of moisture it receives. Furthermore, different soil enzymes occur in different forest types, and in turn influence the activity of those different soil types. It was concluded that the right combination of temperature and precipitation provides habitat for the most desirable (highest activity level) enzymes.
3. #15- Response of microbial community composition and function to soil climate change
a. As climate change progresses it is important to understand variances in the ability of different soils to acclimate to such changes. This study looked at the ability of both sub-oak canopy soils and open grassland soils to withstand changes in localized climate. As forests are cleared and grasslands are plowed for agriculture, it should be known to what extent the critical functions in these soils will be affected.
b. Soil cores were taken from open grasslands and moved into sub-oak canopy environment, and cores from sub-oak canopy locations were transferred to open grasslands. For up to two years, both cores were regularly evaluated with microbial analyses tests to see how each was responding to the switch.
c. The study concluded that grassland soils are much more resistant to a change in their environment, and sub-canopy soils experience much higher levels of stress and an overall decrease in function.
d. These findings imply that considerations should be made about the impacts of not only the atmospheric and hydrologic impacts of land clearing, but also the effect land clearing will have on the health of the soil and its ability to function at its full ecological potential. Perhaps instead of clearing a forest in its entirety for pasture, leave a number of broad canopy trees in order to protect the soil from sudden climatic change and allow it to maintain it’s microbial community structure.
All of these studies made an impact on the way I think about land use changes and their subsequent effects on long-term soil activity, productivity, and general health. I have long wondered about significantly altering plant community compositions and what implications this held for soil composition and function. However, I haven’t given as much thought to the effects of climate change on soil communities, as most direct observations involving climate change are experienced above ground, in plant and animal populations. These studies make me consider more in depth the decisions of land managers and what possible threats they pose to soil productivity, both short and long term. Many of these microbial communities can be easily wiped out by significant moisture or temperature regime changes, such as during a forest clearing or damming event. However, the reestablishment and resiliency to change in these microbial populations cannot keep up with our rapid land use changes. What will the future effects of these changes be on soil communities and their health on a long-term scale? Is it possible that the very basis of our ecological function as a planet is at stake because of how we are treating our wild soils? If decomposition falters or is detrimentally impacted to the point where it cannot keep up with death…where will that leave us in a hundred, or a thousand years? I ruminate…
