Soil BioME
Soil BioME
Soil BioME: Center of Soil Biogeochemistry and Microbial Ecology
Dive into the dynamic world of soils with us! We explore the hidden world of soil microbes across diverse landscapes — from farms to forests and even the Arctic. Our goal is to understand the impact of environmental change in these ecosystems and tackle global challenges like ecosystem degradation, soil-climate feedbacks, and sustaining agricultural productivity.
Research Themes
Microbes
Microorganisms make the world go ‘round. Well, that’s not strictly true — the world goes ‘round because of the gravitational pull of the sun. But, microorganisms — including bacteria, fungi, archaea, viruses, and protists — are responsible for cycling the Earth’s major elements ‘round.
Biogeochemistry
A single teaspoon of soil can have the surface area of a football field. Zooming in, we can look at the microscopic world where the soil biogeochemical and microbial processes that control ecosystem productivity, crop yields, and the global soil carbon cycle begin.
Ecosystems
An ecosystem is an ecological system of organisms interacting with the environment. Examples include temperate forests, Arctic tundra, and agroecosystems. Ecosystems provide a variety of goods and services on which society depends, including food, fuel, and fiber production, water storage and purification, and atmospheric regulation.
News
Cool, cold, and a vision of the future
Jessica Ernakovich and Sean Shaefer are interviewed by New Hampshire Public Radio about why they are studying the Arctic.
September 8, 2023 - New Hampshire Public Radio
Full Article
Our future climate depends partly on microbes
Long-term global change experiments maintained by Frey Lab used to understand how resilient soil microbes are to rising temperatures.
January 1, 2023 - Phys.org
Full Article
Diverse Crop Rotations Can Help
Research in Grandy Lab shows that complex crop rotations encourage nitrogen build-up in soil.
November 9, 2022 - Morning Ag Clips
Full Article
