NRS Invited Seminar Series: Time, climate, and soil development interact to shape microbial communities
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Dr. Mary-Cathrine Leewis from Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, will discuss the ecology and community assembly of soil microorganisms as influenced by climate, time, and space in chronosequences of grassland and Arctic permafrost ecosystems.
Abstract: Microbial communities are present throughout soil profiles and play a critical role in soil organic matter (SOM) and nutrient cycling. By improving our understanding of the relationship between soil development, soil depth, and microbial communities we may provide insight to the critical role microbes play in cycling and preservation of SOM. Additionally, further understanding how the interaction of climate and time shape the dynamics of SOM storage and preservation may allow for more mechanistic predictions of the response of soil communities to change, such as landscape-scale changes in available moisture or temperature regimes. Results from three diverse soil chronosequences highlight how differences in both past and current climates shape the interaction of soil development, SOM, and microbial community composition. I will present work which suggests that knowledge of soil development and community position relative to distinct pedogenic features is important for explaining variations in microbial communities and associated storage of SOM
After the seminar we will have a pizza lunch open to all!
About the speaker
Dr. Mary-Cathrine Leewis
Research Scientist, Agriculture Agri-Food Canada; Quebec Research and Development Centre
Dr. Mary-Cathrine Leewis received her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences (Microbial Ecology) from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2014. From 2014 to 2016, Dr. Leewis completed a postdoctoral program at UAF exploring the influence of plant secondary metabolites on soil microbial communities. From 2016 – 2021, Dr. Leewis was a Research Microbiologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, where she studied microbial survival and carbon metabolism in ancient permafrost, and phytoremediation of mining waste. In 2021, Dr. Leewis joined Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at the Quebec Research and Development Centre as a Research Scientist. Her research focuses on the interrelationships between crops and the soil microbiome.