Dissertation Research: Iron redox dynamics as a driver of organic matter decomposition in humid tropical forest soils

论文研究：铁氧化还原动力学作为潮湿热带森林土壤中有机物分解的驱动因素

基本信息

批准号：
1210936
负责人：
Whendee Silver
金额：
$ 1.5万
依托单位：
University of California-Berkeley
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2012
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2012-06-01 至 2014-05-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1210936&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Dissertation Research Iron redox dynamics

项目摘要

Soils worldwide contain twice as much carbon as the atmosphere, so to understand the global carbon cycle it is important to understand the factors influencing soil organic carbon accumulation and decomposition. Tropical soils contain potentially high concentrations of both organic carbon and iron minerals. In the laboratory these iron minerals have been demonstrated to react with oxygen in a way that decomposes organic compounds that are otherwise difficult for micro-organisms to degrade. The current study will test whether these reactions affect soil organic carbon in natural soils, a finding that would transform the understanding of soil carbon cycling because up to now micro-organisms were thought to be primarily responsible for most soil organic matter decomposition. Insights from these experiments could improve conceptual and mathematical models that describe the influence of soils on the global carbon cycle, and thus improve prediction of the causes and consequences of climate change. Understanding whether and how organic matter decomposition processes driven by iron and oxygen are important in natural ecosystems could also contribute to remediation of soil organic pollutants. Scientific training of graduate and undergraduate students and community volunteers will be supported by this project, and findings will be disseminated in local schools and through online curricula.

全球土壤中的碳含量是大气的两倍，因此要了解全球碳循环，了解影响土壤有机碳积累和分解的因素非常重要。热带土壤可能含有高浓度的有机碳和铁矿物质。在实验室中，这些铁矿物质已被证明可以与氧气发生反应，分解微生物难以降解的有机化合物。目前的研究将测试这些反应是否影响天然土壤中的土壤有机碳，这一发现将改变对土壤碳循环的理解，因为到目前为止，微生物被认为是大多数土壤有机质分解的主要原因。这些实验的见解可以改进描述土壤对全球碳循环影响的概念和数学模型，从而改进对气候变化原因和后果的预测。了解铁和氧驱动的有机物分解过程在自然生态系统中是否重要以及如何重要也有助于土壤有机污染物的修复。该项目将支持对研究生和本科生以及社区志愿者的科学培训，研究结果将在当地学校和通过在线课程传播。