Linking biodiversity to biogeochemical cycling (C-N cycling) in grasslands by soil structure (BIOSTRUC)

• Applicants: Dr. Uwe Franko; Dr. Bernhard Illerhaus; Dr. Monika Joschko
• Subject Area: Ecology and Biodiversity of Plants and Ecosystems
• Term: from 2011 to 2014
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 193798069

Soil structure, the spatial arrangement of pores and solid soil parts, is a key element in grassland ecosystem functioning. Soil structure is affected by land use, develops under the influence of soil biota such as earthworms, characterizes the microhabitat for non-burrowing soil organisms and determines C-N transformation processes in soil. The analysis of soil structure may provide explanations for different microbial and faunal soil communities at differently managed grassland sites. It also enables to assess functional effects of biodiversity, and allows predictions of C-N transformation processes in soil. It is the aim of this project, in close cooperation with other research groups, a) to characterize soil structure by X-ray computed microtomography down to a resolution of 5 μm, b) to relate morphological features of soil structure to distribution patterns of soil communites, and c) to predict C-N dynamics in differently managed grassland sites with simulation models based on soil structure. With this project, it is envisaged to functionally link landuse, biodiversity and C-N dynamics in grasslands.

• DFG Programme: Infrastructure Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1374: Biodiversity Exploratories