Carbon, plant and microbial dynamics in Low-Arctic tundra ...
Anthropogenic climate change threatens the stability of Arctic C stores. Soil microbes are central to the C balance of ecosystems as decomposers of soil organic matter and as determinants of plant diversity. In four experiments in the tundra, I address critical gaps in our understanding of the role...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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University of British Columbia
2009
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0070907 https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0070907 |
| Summary: | Anthropogenic climate change threatens the stability of Arctic C stores. Soil microbes are central to the C balance of ecosystems as decomposers of soil organic matter and as determinants of plant diversity. In four experiments in the tundra, I address critical gaps in our understanding of the role of soil microbial communities in the response of an Arctic ecosystem to climate change. My objectives were 1) to asses the role of mycorrhizal networks (MN) in plant-plant interactions; 2) to determine the effects of warming and fertilization on the ectomycorrhizal (ECM) community of Betula nana; 3) to determine the effect of warming on soil fungi and bacteria over time; 4) to assess the role of the mycorrhizal symbiosis in C-allocation to rhizosphere organisms. I show that MNs exist in tundra and facilitate transfer of C among Betula nana individuals, but not among the other plants examined. C-transfer among Betula nana pairs through MNs represented 5.5 ± 2.2% of photosynthesis, total belowground transfer of C ... |
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