Projects on soil

Terrestrial vegetation and soil take up and emits different organic molecules called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which in case of the latter, contributes to the production of aerosol particles, which affect cloud formation and climate. Due to global change, it is expected that the global temperature will significantly increase, and droughts will become more prevalent and severe, in certain regions. These altered environmental conditions not only changes the VOC emissions and consumption. It has previously been shown that warming, as well as drought, affect the plant and soil microbiota composition. It has been shown that drought influence microbial soil biomass and relative abundance, depending on the soil type, due to resource limitations. The correlation between soil and plant associated microbial communities and VOC emission and consumption, during global change, has yet to be investigated further. 

This project aims to investigate the effects of global change events on the relationship between soil VOC emissions and consumption, and plant and soil associated microbiota.

Key-researcher: Neel Lindsby

Funded by DNRF

Climate change has large effects on most biomes on Earth. This includes effects on soil microorganisms and their activity, which in turn may affect the release of greenhouse gases and the turnover of nutrients important to plants. Despite their importance, these effects are poorly understood by the scientific community. The overall aim of GRADCATCH is to unravel the effects of climate change at regional and global scales on soil microorganisms and their feedbacks on climate. To accomplish this, GRADCATCH studies trans-continental natural gradients in aridity, latitude and altitude.

The main objectives of GRADCATCH are to 1) understand short- and long-term adaptation and susceptibility of soil microbial diversity and functions to climate change, such as variations in soil water availability and temperature, 2) identify phylogenetic and functional soil microbial indicators of climate change, and 3) generate robust data for modelling of climate-soil biodiversity feedback processes, mainly production and consumption of the greenhouse gases CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O.

Collaborators: WSL, Switzerland; University of Girona, Spain; University of Pretoria, South Africa; and University of California, Irvine, US

PI: Anders Priemé

Funded by the BiodivClim COFUND Action BiodivERsA (Read more: GRADCATCH – Københavns Universitet (ku.dk)

Our atmosphere is constantly influenced by volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Emitted by biological organisms and various anthropogenic activities, these gases can lead to ozone creation or depletion. But in the Arctic, the driver of the emission and absorption of many common VOCs is still unknown. The EU-funded ELATE project seeks to shed light on these sources and sinks and use modelling to quantify how increased atmospheric CO2 and biological factors impact them. Understanding the changes in common VOCs, like light alkenes, could help researchers better interpret their impact on the climate and raise public awareness of EU’s climate neutrality goals.

Key-researchers: Yi Jiao, Riikka Rinnan, and Steffen Kolb (ZALF). 

Collaborators: Bo Elberling (CENPERM), Christian Albers (GEUS), Johannes Rousk (Lund)

PI :Yi Jiao and Riikka Rinnan

HORIZON MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships

The aim of the project is to improve our understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological conditions on the terrestrial planets in our own solar system and on planets around other stars, so-called exoplanets.

To help increase our understanding of the effects of life on the composition, structure and evolution of the atmosphere of Earth, Mars, and exoplanets, we collect microorganisms at remote and extreme places on Earth. We then expose them to challenging conditions in laboratory experiments and measure the changes this causes in their production of gases and volatile organic compounds, which can be biosignatures for life on other planets.

In the chemistry lab, we measure the spectral absorption of these gasses/volatiles and then include their signatures into computer models of exoplanet atmospheres, including models on the influence of bacteria on cloud formation. This will allow us to quantify the amount of biological activity that is necessary to cause measurable imprints on the observable exoplanet spectra.

Read more: Center for Extraterrestrisk Liv (CELS) – Niels Bohr Institutet - Københavns Universitet (ku.dk)

Collaborators: Niels Bohr Institute and Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen; and University of Potsdam, Germany

PI: Anders Priemé

Funded by Novo Nordisk Foundation

The use of manure and chemical nitrogen (N) fertilizers in agriculture often leads to environmental problems related to elevated emissions of the potent greenhouse gas N₂O and N transport to aquatic systems. The overarching goal of amoA is to create an Impact Evaluation Framework for the use of nitrification inhibitors (NIs) to significantly reduce agricultural N₂O emissions as the conversion of ammonium to nitrate (which can be denitrified to N₂O and is easily leached from soils) by nitrifying bacteria and archaea is inhibited by NIs. Emissions of N₂O after fertilizer addition supplemented with a NI are significantly reduced and NIs has been estimated to reduce N₂O emissions from Danish arable soils by more than 500 kt CO₂ equivalent per year.

NIs are regulated according to REACH and EU's fertilizer regulations, but despite structural similarities to fungicides, no assessments of groundwater leaching or their effects on soil ecosystems are required, raising strong concerns about their safety and environmental impact. The main aim of amoA is to provide the scientific base for a robust framework to evaluate the fate and effects of NIs. This will be achieved by determining 1) the leaching patterns and fate of two currently available NIs in two different soil types, and 2) the effects on the active microbial community by quantifying reductions in microbial N₂O emissions, as well as impacts on microbial ecosystem services.

Read more Impact evaluation framework for nitrification inhibitors - the amoA project (au.dk)

Collaborators: Aarhus University, Denmark; Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland; SEGES Innovation; Arla; and Danish Crown.

PI: Anders Priemé

Funded by Innovation Fund Denmark