Collaborative Research: Volatile organic compounds released during litter decomposition and their relevance to soil ecology

合作研究：凋落物分解过程中释放的挥发性有机化合物及其与土壤生态的相关性

• 批准号: 1809144
• 负责人: Michael Strickland
• 金额: $ 17.55万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Idaho
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-10-01 至 2021-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1809144&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Volatile; organic; compounds

Walking through a forest, one can often smell the characteristic scents of decomposing vegetation - fragrances from the many natural chemicals (volatile organic compounds or VOCs) that are released as vegetation breaks down. These compounds not only give decomposing leaves their characteristic odor, they are also important to the chemistry of the atmosphere, and to underlying soils, where they can influence soil fertility and alter the types of organisms residing in soil. Hundreds of different VOCs can also be released by the microbes that consume vegetation on the forest floor, and microbial decay of leaves and branches from different plant species produces distinct VOCs during decomposition, contributing to the different smells of a pine versus an oak forest, for example. Scientists do not yet understand how the types and amounts of these substances vary as plant matter decomposes. Researchers also need to understand how the release of VOCs will be altered as forest composition shifts seasonally with changes in the environment. This research will not only address these knowledge gaps, it will also determine the importance of VOCs to underlying soils; how they may promote the storage of carbon in forest soils, and how they can influence soil fertility by altering nitrogen cycling and the types of microorganisms found in soils. This project will be conducted by a team of researchers both at the University of Colorado and at Virginia Tech where the project will train undergraduate and graduate students in cutting-edge research. In addition, researchers at these universities will use the research results to introduce high school students to key concepts and tools in the study of soils and their roles in sustaining ecosystems.All decomposing plant litter emits VOCs, and the total amount of carbon (C) released as VOCs can be surprisingly high, with some litters emitting VOCs at rates approaching that of C emissions as carbon dioxide. The proposed research will use a series of field and laboratory-based studies to determine 1) how the amounts and types of VOCs emitted vary as litter decomposition progresses, 2) the sensitivity of these emissions to changes in moisture and temperature regimes, 3) the degree to which the VOCs produced during litter decomposition represent a source of organic C to underlying soils, and 4) how these VOCs impact microbial communities and key nitrogen cycling processes in soil. Together, the proposed work will improve model representations of VOC fluxes from terrestrial ecosystems, an important objective given that some of these litter-derived VOCs can promote the formation of ozone and secondary organic aerosols in the atmosphere. In addition, this research will explore an understudied mechanism by which leaf litter can influence the biotic and abiotic characteristics of underlying soils. Ultimately this research could lead to the development of novel strategies to manage soil by identifying specific VOCs that could reduce soil pathogen loads or alter the rates of specific microbial processes that are critical to the maintenance of soil fertility.

穿过森林，通常会闻到分解植被的特征气味 - 随着植被破裂而释放的许多天然化学物质（挥发性有机化合物或VOC）的香气。这些化合物不仅具有分解的叶子，它们的特征性气味，它们对大气的化学和潜在的土壤也很重要，在那里它们可以影响土壤的生育能力并改变居住在土壤中的生物的类型。微生物也可以释放数百种不同的VOC，这些微生物在森林地面上食用植被，而来自不同植物物种的叶子和分支的微生物腐烂在分解过程中会产生独特的VOC，例如，有助于松树与橡树林的不同气味。科学家尚不了解这些物质的类型和量如何随着植物物质分解而变化。研究人员还需要了解，随着森林组成随季节的变化而随着环境的变化而变化，VOC的释放将如何改变。这项研究不仅将解决这些知识差距，还将决定VOC对潜在土壤的重要性。它们如何促进碳在森林土壤中的储存，以及如何通过改变氮循环和土壤中发现的微生物类型来影响土壤的生育能力。该项目将由科罗拉多大学和弗吉尼亚理工大学的一组研究人员进行，该项目将在尖端研究中培训本科生和研究生。此外，这些大学的研究人员将使用研究结果将高中生介绍到研究土壤及其在维持生态系统中的作用中的关键概念和工具。所有分解植物垃圾都发出了VOC，而释放的碳（C）作为VOC的总量可能是令人惊讶的高，有些插脚以COR的速度快到C carbon dioxii iioxii iioxii iioxide，而witters则散发出较高的速度。拟议的研究将使用一系列基于实验室和实验室的研究来确定1）随着垃圾分解的进展，发射的VOC的数量和类型如何变化，2）这些排放对水分和温度状态变化的敏感性，3）窝分解过程中VOC产生的VOC产生的程度，滴定物的源代表有机物的源源和voc的kity and coles and scogial and cy sircial and cy sircial and cy sirciate and 4）和4）微生物群体和4）and cy sircient and 4）和4）微生物群体和4）。 土壤。拟议的工作将共同改善陆地生态系统中VOC通量的模型表示，这是一个重要的目标，因为这些垃圾衍生的VOC可以促进大气中臭氧和次生有机气溶胶的形成。此外，这项研究将探索一种研究的机制，叶片垃圾可以影响潜在土壤的生物和非生物特征。最终，这项研究可能会导致新的策略来管理土壤，通过识别可以减少土壤病原体负荷的特定VOC或改变对维持土壤生育至关重要的特定微生物过程的速率。