ETBC Collaborative Research: Weathering Under Cover: Role of biofilms in mineral weathering and nutrient uptake in the mycorrhizosphere

Hartwick College, Oneonta NY

Investigators

Abstract

Intellectual merit: Recent advances across several fields set the stage for process-based research into the biogeochemical agency of vascular plants -- in particular, how their physiologies drive Earth?s ?weathering engine? to extract mineral matter from regolith to build soils, chemically denude the continents, and set the chemistry of the ocean / atmosphere on geologic timescales. Such research is timely and needed to interpret pedo-geologic records of global change, and to forecast the effects of terrestrial C sequestration on the global CO2 cycle and soil sustainability in a human-altered world. The PIs overarching concept is that plant-driven weathering rates and mechanisms vary, depending on geologic setting and ecosystem phase. They focused on primary-successional settings, where plants must extract nutrients from soils by chemical weathering. The premise is that a key adaptation of many plants to these conditions is development of mycorrhizospheric biofilms, which attach the root system to mineral surfaces and micro-localize the biology, chemistry, and hydrology of weathering and nutrient uptake at the root system-mineral interface. At this micron scale, dissolution and biological mass transfers occur over very small distances and in relative isolation from bulk soil water, thereby increasing macroscopic nutrient acquisition efficiency and decreasing nutrient loss in drainage. The central hypothesis is that varying degrees of nutrient limitation (i.e., the need to extract base cations from mineral sources) influence biofilm development and weathering/uptake function. To address this hypothesis, the PIs propose to use replicated ectomycorrhizal seedling systems in a growth experiment, and vary the availability of Ca and K in bulk soil water and primary minerals by manipulating irrigation solutions and initial mineral composition. This research will provide insights into the mechanisms that link micron-scale processes of mineral weathering to ecosystem-scale processes of nutrient acquisition and ultimately global-scale processes of continental denudation. Broader Impact: Eight undergraduate students will work on this project. Because of the unique combination of researchers, students will be drawn from a community college, a four-year undergraduate college, and two research universities. The proposed research will foster a collaborative network of scientists that includes Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the US Forest Service, the Agricultural Research Service, and academic institutions. The results will be disseminated to science networks including the Critical Zone Exploration Network and the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study, and introduced to the general public through teaching and learning modules designed for middle and high school classrooms. Ultimately, this work will serve as a foundation for improving plant nutrition and soil sustainability, and better understanding terrestrial and hydrospheric carbon sequestration.