Going underground: root traits and organic matter dynamics in grassland soils
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Earth Atmospheric and Env Sciences
Abstract
A major challenge facing global food security is the need to maintain, and enhance, the essential functions of soil that underpin the delivery of ecosystem services, such as carbon storage and efficient nutrient cycling, whilst also maintaining economically viable yield. Several factors regulate the functioning of soils, but of central importance are interactions between plants and soil microbial communities, which regulate the biogeochemical processes on which soil fertility and plant growth depend. Whilst there is growing awareness of the functional importance of such relationships between plants and soil microbial communities, our understanding of the mechanisms involved remains poor. This studentship tackles this challenge by testing the efficacy of a trait-based approach for exploring how changes in vegetation composition impact microbial communities and their functioning in soil, with a particular focus on priming, i.e. enhanced breakdown of organic matter in soil. Using grasslands as a model system, the student will test the hypothesis that variation in root trait syndromes among grassland plant species act as major drivers of soil organic matter priming through their impact on microbial communities in soil. Information from these studies will be used to develop a trait-based framework for predicting how changes in plant functional diversity, resulting from land use change, impact soil microbial communities and the priming of organic matter in soil, a key function related to soil carbon storage. The student will be trained in the use of state of the art biological and geochemical approaches used controlled environments and in the field.
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BB/M011208/1 | 01/10/2015 | 31/03/2024 | |||
| 1788217 | Studentship | BB/M011208/1 | 01/10/2016 | 20/01/2021 |
| Description | Plant species are known to influence the soil microbial communities in different ways. We set up an experiment to test whether we could predict what traits of plants can be useful in predicting how a plant influences the soil fungi. This work is ongoing, but we have identified a small number of plant traits that may be useful in developing a framework that can be used to predict how a plant influences the soil fungal communities. Plant soil feedbacks are when one plant grows in the soil and the chemical and biological influence this has on the soil affects the growth of another, different, plant that is grown in the future on that same site. We found that these feedbacks are not affected by how closely related the 2 different plants species are. |
| Exploitation Route | These results will contribute to the development of frameworks used to predict how plants influence the soil microbiome, likely by other researchers, but when established could be useful to environmental and agricultural sectors. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment,Other |
| Description | KEYSOM COST Action ES1406 3rd KEYSOM Training School |
| Amount | € 850 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | ECOST-TRAINING_SCHOOL-ES1406-040219-099362 |
| Organisation | European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Belgium |
| Start | 01/2019 |
| End | 01/2019 |
| Description | sROOT - Root Trait functionality in a Whole-Plant Context |
| Organisation | German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | As part of a consortium, I attended 3 workshops in Leipzig, Germany, funded by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig. However, my work as a result of this award resulted in my invitation to attend. The goal of these workshops was to explore plant root trait variation and place it in the context of the whole plant. To answer why root traits vary in the way that they do, and how this is comparable to the variation in aboveground plant organs. I was involved in the collection of the data to build the GRoot database, which will be published soon, and developing the conceptual framework that we used this database to test. Further I was involved in the interpretation of the results and commenting on the manuscript prior to submission. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Collection of data and building of a large root trait database. Hypothesis generation. Standardisation and analysis of data. Intepretation of results. Writing of manuscripts. |
| Impact | https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.17.908905v1 - BioRXiv submission of the first manuscript. 1 paper is undergoing revisions and 1 is under submission, 2 more are planned. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Outreach at Eureka Museum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As part of Science week I attended an outreach activity at Eureka Museum, Halifax, UK. Aimed at targeting children, our stand promoted soil science generally. More specifically, children could do a small soil respiration experiment. Here, colour changes on a "micro-resp" plate showed how the soil is actually alive. Further, we had a "soil-safari" in which children could hunt for soil micro- and macro-fauna. A microscope was taken to allow the examination of soil fauna under the microscope. The importance of a complete ecosystem in the soil was discussed in the provisioning of ecosystem services, of course, in an age appropriate manner. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Promoting good agricultural land management strategies in Malawi, Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was a co-applicant for a Social Responsibility Fund grant, from the University of Manchester with my colleague and leader of the project, Helena Herrmann. The aim of this project was to promote the use of soil and plant science to improve crop health in Malawi, Africa, through a series of workshops. The workshops were hosted in conjunction with Farming and Engineering Services who have recently set up AgriLab, an agricultural testing facility. With their newly established Emerging Farmers Department, they aim for its services to reach the smallholder sector and to provide sustainable agricultural development in Malawi. We conducted a series of knowledge transfer workshops to enable both smallholder farmers and NGOs to understand why soil and plant health is important, what soil and plant science can tell us about this, and how these results can influence land management strategies. We covered plant essential nutrition, nutrient cycling, nutrient mining, crop system dynamics and representative sample collection. Our sessions on plant and soil health and the purpose of agricultural testing were well received across the target groups, with 100% of attendants indicating that they enjoyed the workshop and 97% of participants stating that they learned something of interest! Here are some of our favourite quotes from the feedback forms: "The workshop presented a clear vision for Malawi's agricultural commodities to become competitive on the international market in terms of quality and quantity." "The section on over and under fertilizing was particularly interesting and will enable smallholder farmers to invest wisely." "Simple to understand. Straight to the point." |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.helenaherrmann.com/post/promoting-plant-soil-health |