The Enzymatic Landscape of Soils - Biogeography of Enzymes At Different Scales.

Studies of microbial biogeography can often provide key insights into the physiologies, environmental tolerances, and ecological strategies of soil microorganisms that dominate in natural environments. In comparison with aquatic systems, soils are particularly heterogeneous. Soil heterogeneity results from the interaction of a hierarchical series of interrelated variables that fluctuate at many different spatial and temporal scales. Whereas spatial dependence of chemical and physical soil properties is well known at scales ranging from decimetres to several hundred metres, the spatial structures of microbial communities and soil enzymes across scales are less clear. Previous work has primarily focused on spatial heterogeneity at a single analytical scale using the distribution of individual cells, specific types of organisms or collective parameters such as bacterial abundance or total microbial biomass. There are fewer studies that have considered variations in function and activity of soil microbial communities. This presentation will discuss environmental factors shaping the biogeography of soil enzymes at the micro-, plot- and regional scale.