Climate Change | dochertylab

Microbes in a Changing Climate

Highly diverse soil microbial communities are responsible for many of Earth's most important nutrient cycles, particularly with respect to carbon storage. The question of whether microbial diversity and function will be maintained under future climate scenarios has important implications for global carbon cycling. Many studies have investigated the effects of single climate change factors on soil microbial performance. However, climate change will have multi-factorial effects, with many variables changing at once and over a long time scale. The Jasper Ridge Global Change Experiment, located near Palo Alto, CA, has been actively manipulating carbon dioxide, temperature, precipitation and nitrogen levels for 15 years. Many studies in the Docherty lab utilize an archived collection of soils from this site to explore the interactive effects of climate change on soil microbial communities. In particular, we are interested in the long-term effects of multi-factor treatments on soil bacterial diversity. This work is in collaboration with Dr. Jessica Gutknecht at University of Minnesota and researchers at the JRGCE.