Emergent properties of microbial activity in heterogeneous soil microenvironments: different research approaches are slowly converging, yet major challenges remain

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dc.contributor.authorBaveye, Philippe C.
dc.contributor.authorOtten, Wilfred
dc.contributor.authorKravchenko, Alexandra
dc.contributor.authorBalseiro-Romero, María
dc.contributor.authorBeckers, Éléonore
dc.contributor.authorChalhoub, Maha
dc.contributor.authorDarnault, Christophe
dc.contributor.authorEickhorst, Thilo
dc.contributor.authorGarnier, Patricia
dc.contributor.authorHapca, Simona
dc.contributor.authorKiranyaz, Serkan
dc.contributor.authorMonga, Olivier
dc.contributor.authorMueller, Carsten W.
dc.contributor.authorNunan, Naoise
dc.contributor.authorPot, Valérie
dc.contributor.authorSchlüter, Steffen
dc.contributor.authorSchmidt, Hannes
dc.contributor.authorVogel, Hans-Jörg
dc.date.accessioned2018-08-30T15:55:50Z
dc.date.available2018-08-30T15:55:50Z
dc.date.issued2018-08-27
dc.description.abstractOver the last 60 years, soil microbiologists have accumulated a wealth of experimental data showing that the bulk, macroscopic parameters (e.g., granulometry, pH, soil organic matter, and biomass contents) commonly used to characterize soils provide insufficient information to describe quantitatively the activity of soil microorganisms and some of its outcomes, like the emission of greenhouse gasses. Clearly, new, more appropriate macroscopic parameters are needed, which reflect better the spatial heterogeneity of soils at the microscale (i.e., the pore scale) that is commensurate with the habitat of many microorganisms. For a long time, spectroscopic and microscopic tools were lacking to quantify processes at that scale, but major technological advances over the last 15 years have made suitable equipment available to researchers. In this context, the objective of the present article is to review progress achieved to date in the significant research program that has ensued. This program can be rationalized as a sequence of steps, namely the quantification and modeling of the physical-, (bio)chemical-, and microbiological properties of soils, the integration of these different perspectives into a unified theory, its upscaling to the macroscopic scale, and, eventually, the development of new approaches to measure macroscopic soil characteristics. At this stage, significant progress has been achieved on the physical front, and to a lesser extent on the (bio)chemical one as well, both in terms of experiments and modeling. With regard to the microbial aspects, although a lot of work has been devoted to the modeling of bacterial and fungal activity in soils at the pore scale, the appropriateness of model assumptions cannot be readily assessed because of the scarcity of relevant experimental data. For significant progress to be made, it is crucial to make sure that research on the microbial components of soil systems does not keep lagging behind the work on the physical and (bio)chemical characteristics. Concerning the subsequent steps in the program, very little integration of the various disciplinary perspectives has occurred so far, and, as a result, researchers have not yet been able to tackle the scaling up to the macroscopic level. Many challenges, some of them daunting, remain on the path ahead. Fortunately, a number of these challenges may be resolved by brand new measuring equipment that will become commercially available in the very near future.en_UK
dc.identifier.citationPhilippe C. Baveye, Wilfred Otten, Alexandra Kravchenko, et al., Emergent properties of microbial activity in heterogeneous soil microenvironments: different research approaches are slowly converging, yet major challenges remain. Frontiers in Microbiology, Online 27 August 2018, article number 1929en_UK
dc.identifier.issn1664-302X
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.01929
dc.identifier.urihttp://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/13436
dc.language.isoenen_UK
dc.publisherFrontiers Mediaen_UK
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/*
dc.subjectsoil microbiologyen_UK
dc.subjectbiodiversityen_UK
dc.subjectupscalingen_UK
dc.subjecttomographyen_UK
dc.subjectX-ray computeden_UK
dc.subjectNanoSIMS imagingen_UK
dc.subjectsingle-cell genomicsen_UK
dc.titleEmergent properties of microbial activity in heterogeneous soil microenvironments: different research approaches are slowly converging, yet major challenges remainen_UK
dc.typeArticleen_UK

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