Project
Decipher rhizobiomes at the aggregate level in rotation systems with links to soil health
As part of the AGD (Agricultural Green Development) program, this project will provide the basis for integrative knowledge on links between the dynamics and diversity of rhizobiomes with agroecosystem functions in terms of crop growth in rotation systems.
Conventional agricultural crop production requires excessive chemical input, is costly and cause adverse effects on microbiome diversity compromising ecosystem functions. While there is increasing knowledge on plant-microbiome interactions, we lack an understanding on the importance of the complex rhizobiomes including microbial predators, e.g., protists and nematodes, on plant performance and nitrogen cycling in agricultural rotation systems. This knowledge gap is even more pronounced at the scale where microbes operate: aggregates.
Description
Therefore, we setup a subproject of the Agricultural Green Development (AGD) program with the aim to decipher the full microbiome including predators at the aggregate level and its functional role in nitrogen transformation and shaping plant performance in different agricultural crop rotation practices. We are particularly interested in temporal differences across crop growth stages. Our integrated research on the complete microbiome and its functioning across plant growth in diverse rotation systems will help to understand plant-soil interactions at the aggregate level as affected by management which might become the basis for optimized agricultural practices.
