Speaker
Description
The soil microbiome plays a pivotal role in biogeochemical cycles, particularly in carbon and nitrogen cycling, which are central to the regulation of Earth's climate. As global climate change accelerates, understanding whether the soil microbiome functions primarily as a mitigator or as a contributor to this threat is increasingly critical.
Recent advances in metagenomics, isotope tracing, and environmental modeling have revealed that soil microbial communities significantly influence carbon fluxes between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. Microbial processes such as SOM decomposition, nitrification, denitrification, and methanogenesis govern the turnover of key greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and methane (CH₄). In stable ecosystems, especially unmanaged forests and undisturbed grasslands, microbes facilitate carbon sequestration by stabilizing organic matter in soils and promoting plant-microbe symbioses that enhance biomass productivity and drought resilience. These functions position the soil microbiome as a potential climate change mitigator.
However, microbial contributions to climate change are highly context dependent. Disturbances such as intensive agriculture, deforestation, and permafrost thawing alter microbial community structure and function, often leading to elevated greenhouse gas emissions turning the soil microbiome into a potential accelerator of climate change.
Thus, the answer to the question - whether the soil microbiome is a mitigator or origin of climate change?— is not binary. The soil microbiome is both, and its trajectory is ultimately shaped by human stewardship as well as environmental conditions including climate change itself.
The key question is: How can microbial processes be managed or engineered to enhance their climate-mitigating capabilities? Promising strategies include promoting beneficial microbial taxa through conservation agriculture, rewilding degraded lands, applying biochar, and developing microbial inoculants designed to stabilize soil carbon. However, the high complexity and variability of microbial communities on the one hand and differences in site specific properties like soil type, management or climate on the other hand exacerbate prediction and control. Thus the “One fits all solution” might be never achieved. Furthermore, current Earth system models inadequately represent microbial processes, underscoring the need for more integrative research at the intersection of microbiology, soil science, and modeling.
The presentation will give an overview about current state of the art describing the dual role of the soil microbiome that can either buffer or exacerbate climate change mainly focussing on grassland ecosystems. The presentation will also address the question of the stoichiometry of nutrients and if subsequent adaptations in management might be a possibility to induce targeted changes in the soil microbiome composition and activity pattern, which could also influence greenhouse gas emission pattern .
