Scaling Genes to Ecosystems

Well-constrained and controllable model systems serve as testbeds for linking genomic measures of microbial activity to trace gas exchange in the soil system. We use model systems to evaluate our understanding across scale and soil complexity. 

Current Projects

Trace gas cycling at the Landscape Evolution Observatory. A primary study site for the lab is the Landscape Evolution Observatory (LEO), University of Arizona’s flagship Biosphere 2 experiment. Here, we have the opportunity to measure trace gas cycling at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution on three model hillslopes. The slopes are filled with crushed basalt, and we investigate what types of trace gas metabolisms support pioneering microbes and whether observed fluxes can be predicted from their sequence-based data.

Pulsed N2O soil fluxes following drought in the B2 Tropical Rainforest

Stable Isotope Labeling Experiment in the B2 Tropical Rainforest. Intermediate between a model system and a real world ecosystem, the Biosphere 2 Tropical Rainforest is an ideal site for evaluating our ability to scale soil microbial processes to the ecosystem while maintaining a level of control for replication in time and treatment. Here, we study the interactions between soil microbes and plants in driving greenhouse gas fluxes such as nitrous oxide and methane and investigate the implications of carbon cycling in the hottest rainforest in the world. This is an exciting year for research at the B2 Tropical Rainforest, as we bring together scientists from around the world to re-envision research in this iconic biome. Interested in bringing your research to the rainforest? Get in touch.

Key Papers

Variability and environmental controls of negative soil CO₂ fluxes: insights from a large-scale experimental hillslope (Paper forthcoming)

Controlled Experiments of Hillslope Coevolution at the Biosphere 2 Landscape Evolution Observatory: Toward Prediction of Coupled Hydrological, Biogeochemical, and Ecological Change. Read Paper >>> 

Recent Highlights

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Key Collaborators

Till H. M. Volkmann & Peter Troch, Biosphere 2

Joost van Haren, UA Honors College and Biosphere 2

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University of Arizona Research, Discovery, and Innovation