Location: Wind Erosion and Water Conservation Research
Title: Soil Health and the Microbial Community: Resilience and Delivering Services in a Shifting ClimateAuthor
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Submitted to: World Congress of Soil Science
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 3/8/2018 Publication Date: 8/12/2018 Citation: Acosta Martinez, V. 2018. Soil Health and the Microbial Community: Resilience and Delivering Services in a Shifting Climate. World Congress of Soil Science. none. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Meeting the needs of our growing 21st Century population under anticipated climate shifts and extreme weather events will require healthy soils with resilient soil microbial communities. Enhancing soil health and the role of the living component that sustains essential functions requires evaluation of the complex interactions of management selections and weather extremes on the microbial component at multiple scales (e.g., local, regional, national, and global). This talk will provide examples of the changes observed in the microbial community size, composition and activity as affected by management during record drought, including the three hottest months on record (June-August 2011) since 1911, in a semiarid region in Texas. The distinct microbial composition that we found under a record drought/heat wave may represent assemblages essential to maintaining ecosystem function during extreme weather conditions in semiarid agroecosystems. A compilation of data will be provided that shows how we have been able to link shifts in the soil microbial composition via fatty acid profiling and molecular sequencing with essential soil functions (biogeochemical cycling and soil organic matter dynamics). |
