Does below ground carbon allocation drive soil biodiversity in boreal forests?
2003-2008
Our poor understanding of how carbon flow may regulate saprotrophic and symbiotic microbial populations has been confounded by a lack of reliable tools to quantify their diversity and function. This project takes advantage of novel stable isotope tracer and molecular methods and their use in conjunction (stable isotope probing), to uniquely link diversity and function in forest ecosystems. The principal aim is to test the hypothesis that competition for plant-derived carbon regulates the diversity and function of soil organisms in boreal forests.
The following three key questions will be addressed:
- Does carbon allocation to EM fungi a) differ between fungal species and b) depend on tree species?
- Do saprotrophic bacteria & fungi associated with trees occupying distinct ecological niches differ in a) their diversity, and b) their ability to access plant-derived carbon?
- Do mycophagous soil animals influence the key functions played by ectomycorrhizas in carbon cycling?
