13.12.2022: Minsu KIM (Graz): Microscale heterogeneity shapes oil microbial diversity and functions, HS 31.11, Institut für Biologie, Bereich für Pflanzenwissenschaften, Schubertstraße 51, 17:00 Uhr.
Soils are the major compartments of terrestrial ecosystems and provide invaluable ecosystem services. The interactions between biotic and abiotic components drive soil functions such as the promotion of plant growth, transformation/storage of substances (e.g., carbon and nitrogen cycling), transport of energy and water, etc., to name a few. The wide range of soil functions is attributed to the high microbial diversity sustained by the microscale heterogeneity of physical and chemical conditions in soil pore spaces, which provide numerous and dynamic microbial habitats. In this talk, I will present a mechanistic model of microbial life in soils that quantifies microbial diversity and spatial organization of multi-taxa communities under varying soil conditions. The model predicts changes in microbial diversity in response to wetting-drying cycles and estimates rates of microbial processes, such as soil gaseous emission fluxes. In good agreement with experimental and field observations, our model highlights the importance of submillimetre-scale biogeochemical processes that are not captured by bulk soil measurements.