To understand how patterns of oxygen (O2) availability alter microbial community structure, activity and biogeochemical fluxes, the team conducted a redox oscillation study with Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF), Puerto Rico soils, and preserved samples for molecular analysis and geochemical data (Fe speciation and spectroscopy, P availability, pH, trace gases, and organic matter turnover and fate). In tandem with the lead investigator’s DOE-OBER early career research, the team aims to analyze these data alongside proposed JGI sequencing results, and use this powerful combination to address how patterns of soil redox oscillation shape community genomic potential, functional stability and process rates. They hypothesize that the pattern of soil redox oscillation (frequency and duration of O2 availability) significantly affects community genomic potential, function and process rates.
Proposer: Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory