Temperature, Oxygen, and Vegetation as Drivers of Microbial Dynamics in Warming Boreal Peatlands

Teagan Kuzniar*, Chansotheary Dang, and Ember Morrissey
Division of Plant and Soil Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506

Presentation No.: 4

Assigned Category (Presentation Format): Agricultural & Environmental Sciences (Oral Presentations)

Student’s Major: Environmental Microbiology

Boreal peatlands, a type of wetland, have slow rates of organic matter decomposition due to the water-saturated and oxygen-limited environment. This causes the accumulation of organic carbon and sequesters atmospheric carbon dioxide. Climate warming is predicted to cause increased greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands due to increased rates of microbial metabolism and organic matter decomposition. This is expected to cause a shift in vegetation from sphagnum moss to vascular plants. However, little is known as to how vegetation and temperature affect individual microbial taxa metabolism. We conducted a warming experiment using soil from Cranberry Glades, W.V., the southernmost boreal peatland in North America. We will utilize quantitative stable isotope probing (qSIP) to determine how individual wetland microbial species' growth rates change with rising temperatures and if these changes are dependent upon oxygen availability and vegetation. Preliminary data suggests the accumulation of carbon will increase under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions with rising temperatures. Understanding how microbial communities respond to warming is essential to determining how these ecosystems will respond to global climate change.

Funding:

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's SURE program (Rita Rio & Michelle Richards-Babb)