Accessing Soil Microbial Community and Functional Differences of Environmental Samples.

Global Climate Change and Contaminated Waste Management continue be of great concern to most researchers, the public and everyone in between. However, many interested parties do not understand the problems or the potential implications that these issues pose on the environment and on human health. This research focuses on using soil and environmental microbial communities as indicators of ecosystem quality as affected by climate change and toxic waste deposition. Soil microorganisms are diverse and vital components to the overall functioning and stability of ecosystems, as the soil biota perform many fundamental processes including nutrient cycling, soil structural dynamics and stability, degradation of pollutants, and regulation of plant communities. We will evaluate the spatial distribution of the microbial community and the relationship of these microbial assemblages on the chemical composition of organic and mineral components. Our goal is to gain a better understanding of the changes in the size, compositions (species assemblages), and activities of soil microbial communities in agricultural, forest, pristine and contaminated ecosystems, as linking microbial assemblages to functionality are the key to expanding our understanding of the supporting services benefiting environmental and human health.

We do not yet have a firm comprehension of how to collectively characterize microbial genetic, physiological, or taxonomic diversity, and much less comprehensive understanding of how to relate this diversity to actual ecosystem processes and functioning, but we are making great strides towards a better understanding. We have conducted microbial ecology studies addressing the impact of wind erosion, extreme heat and drought, and toxic contaminants have on the microbial population. It was found that shifts in microbial community and diversity may be used as sensitive indicators of ecosystem health. 

This research is ongoing; however the tools and techniques being developed or improved are essential for characterizing the diversity and the community composition of microorganisms, as affected by changes in the environment, specifically the soil ecosystem. The work will focus on estimating how climate change, agricultural and waste management practices may impact the soil ecosystem, in hope of providing education material to the public, leading to improved/sustainable management practices.