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SUMMARY:EESS talk on "The role of microbial diversity for soil functioning
  "
DTSTART:20230418T121500
DTEND:20230418T131500
DTSTAMP:20260427T203416Z
UID:3a8b3c3b3d8d5d5a35b8940d1439d342bcfb8b3a4723467317a67d9d
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Dr.Luiz Domeignoz Horta\, Department of Evolutionary Biology a
 nd Environmental Studies\, ETHZ\nAbstract:\nSoils are the largest and most
  dynamic terrestrial carbon (C) pool\, storing 2000 Pg of C – more than 
 the atmosphere and biosphere combined. However\, agriculture has caused th
 e loss of approximately 60 Pg soil C since the beginning of industrial per
 iod. As agroecosystems represent over 40% of the earth's surface today\, t
 hey must be part of the solution put in action to mitigate climate change.
  The utility of management practices to maximize soil carbon storage – i
 s currently limited by a poor understanding of how plants which input carb
 on to soil\, and the microbes which determine its fate there interact with
  one-another. I am combining laboratory experiments and field experiments 
 to unravel the mechanisms of soil organic matter (SOM) formation and persi
 stence in soils. While my laboratory experiments shed light into how compl
 ex communities generate more persistent SOM and the distinct roles of fung
 i and bacteria on this process\, studying a novel plant diversity farming 
 experiment we show that plant diversity mediated the associations between 
 the microorganisms enhancing the community carbon use efficiency and poten
 tial soil carbon retention. Altogether these results will help us better u
 nderstand the mechanisms by which soil microbial diversity is important fo
 r the formation of persistent soil organic matter and disentangle how far
 mers can implement more sustainable practices and help retain carbon into 
 soils.\n\nShort biography:\nI am a microbial ecologist interested in when
  and where “who’s there” matters for ecosystem functioning. I combi
 ne laboratory experiments with large-scale field manipulations\, biogeoche
 mical measurements and multi-omics approaches to unravel the drivers of so
 il functioning. One of the key themes of my research is how diversity dri
 ves ecosystem function. My interest in this theme was largely instigated 
 during my PhD where I evaluated the effect of agricultural practices on ni
 trogen cycling related bacteria and their relationship with N2O emissions.
  I showed that the diversity of soil bacterial N2O-reducers is negativel
 y related to the proportion of N2O emitted from agricultural soils. This 
 made me wonder whether diversity may also impact more general community pr
 operties such as carbon use efficiency. So\, for my first postdoc I develo
 ped a model soil microcosm system to evaluate how microbial diversity affe
 cts microbial carbon use efficiency. I showed that microbial diversity dr
 ives the efficiency with which microbes utilize carbon in soil\, and that
  abiotic factors (i.e. moisture) can modulate this relationship. On my cur
 rent project I am evaluating the relationships and feedback(s) between pl
 ant diversity and soil microorganisms. I am investigating how plant div
 ersity influences microbial interactions and carbon use efficiency in the 
 rhizosphere. I am doing this by linking various disciplines including pla
 nt functional ecology\, microbiology\, stable isotopes and soil biogeochem
 istry to shed light into how farmers can implement more sustainable practi
 ces.
LOCATION:ALP 1 109 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==ALP%201%20109 https://epfl.
 zoom.us/j/69011077410
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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