Subproject “Connecting the green and the grey world: an experimental approach to separating climate, vegetation, and geochemical effects on nutrient cycling along a climate gradient” in the priority program “EarthShape: Earth Surface Shaping by Biota”
One component why biota might shape the Earth’s surface is related to their active role as “weathering engine”. However, efficient nutrient cycling of both plants and soil microorganisms might reduce their need to access nutrients contained in bedrock and this might depend on climate decisive for the progress of weathering. We will first identify the nutrient/nutrient combination that plants and soil organisms require most (= growth-limiting nutrients) and then assess how efficiently these nutrients are used by organisms. To pinpoint causal relationships, we will combine a climate gradient and a climate manipulation experiment in Chile.
Postdoc: Rafaella Canessa Mesías
PI: Prof. Dr. Yvonne Oelmann, Dr. Harald Neidhardt
Co-PI: Prof. Dr. Katja Tielbörger, University of Tübingen, Germany
Cooperation partners: Prof. Lohengrin Cavieres, Prof. Felipe Aburto, University of Concepción, Chile
Funding: German Research Foundation