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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #254433
Title: Assessment of Soil Microbial Communities Associated With Greenhouse Gas Efflux from a Secondary Forest in Central Missouri

Author
item HOILETT, NIGEL - Lincoln University Of Missouri
item EIVAZI, F - Lincoln University Of Missouri
item NKONGOLO, NSALAMBI - Lincoln University Of Missouri
item Kremer, Robert
item Kennedy, Ann

Submitted to: American Society of Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/4/2010
Publication Date: 10/31/2010
Citation: Hoilett, N.O., Eivazi, F., Nkongolo, N., Kremer, R.J., Kennedy, A.C. 2010. Assessment of Soil Microbial Communities Associated With Greenhouse Gas Efflux from a Secondary Forest in Central Missouri [abstract]. American Society of Agronomy. 2010 CDROM.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Carbon and nitrogen enters the atmosphere in the form of the greenhouse gases (GHG) carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) partly as a result of industrial and agricultural processes. The effects of GHG on global climate change and the environment require better understanding of the processes that govern GHG efflux. Soil microbial communities influence the environments they inhabit by mediating nutrient cycling and other soil processes. However, the extent of microbial influence on GHG efflux is not fully understood. Our objective is to expand understanding of the biological relationship of the soil microbial community to GHG by examining the relationship of soil microbial communities with GHG efflux as a function of landscape position and season. Microbial communities were characterized by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) and DNA profiling analyses. PLFAs represent the current living community both quantitatively and qualitatively; DNA profiles represent the genetic biodiversity of the soil microbial community. The profiling analyses were applied to incubation studies that examined the influence of soil microbial activity on the spatial distribution of GHG from soils collected from a secondary forest in central Missouri. The information gathered from this study will be useful in constructing predictive models of GHG efflux from different ecosystems relative to biological activity and the microbial biodiversity within various landscapes.