Projects / Programmes
The Ljubljana Marsh - assessment of environmental change by activity and structure of microbial community
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 4.03.00 |
Biotechnical sciences |
Plant production |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| B410 |
Biomedical sciences |
Soil science, agricultural hydrology |
| B260 |
Biomedical sciences |
Hydrobiology, marine biology, aquatic ecology, limnology |
| B230 |
Biomedical sciences |
Microbiology, bacteriology, virology, mycology |
Peatlands, soil organic matter, decomposition, water table level, gas emissions, microorganisms, activity, community structure
Researchers (10)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
Wetlands perform several ecologically important functions. As surface water discharge and ground water recharge areas, they help to maintain water balance and the supply of drinking water in broader geographical regions nearby. Water is the dominant factor determining development of soils and associated biological communities in wetlands. Peatlands are habitats with the largest content of soil organic matter, which can be rapidly decomposed by microorganisms, resulting in green-house gas emissions and pollution of ground water with nitrate. Pathways and rates of organic matter decomposition are controlled by water levels. The Ljubljana Marsh belongs to the vast group of degraded peatlands as a consequence of drainage and agricultural land use during the past 200 years. Renaturation efforts with rapid and uncontrolled rise of water table level in various peatland habitats will have unpredictable and most likely unwanted ecological consequences, due to lack of appropriate studies. The aim of our project is to study the effect of water table levels and concomitant change in physico-chemical parameters on the microbial proceses and structure of microbial community, whose activity is manifested in peat decomposition, green-house gas emissions and ground water pollution. Studies will be conducted in the field and in laboratory incubation experiments. By relating seasonal shifts in functional communities (ammonia oxidizers, denitrifiers, methanogens) to their metabolic potentials, measured in soils with different organic matter content, at seasonal extremes of environmental parameters (water level, temperature), we should elucidate the role of major environmental factors (soil organic matter content, water table level, temperature) affecting community structure and activity in peatlands.
