| Project Detail |
The role of ecological memory in mitigating extreme droughts Extreme droughts are increasingly frequent globally. The concept of ecological memory formation, which examines how past events influence current ecosystem responses, presents a challenge to our ability to forecast future ecosystem response to droughts. Soil microbes play a crucial role in regulating biogeochemical processes, possessing key features that allow rapid adaptation to recurrent stress. Therefore, studying their response to climate change is essential. In this context, the ERC-funded EcoMEMO project will study soil microbial communities under drought conditions to understand how ecological memory aids in mitigating the adverse effects of extreme drought. By integrating soil biogeochemistry, molecular ecology and mathematics, the project aims to quantify ecological memory and identify features of soil microbial community dynamics crucial to ecological memory formation. Current global changes are increasing frequency and intensity of extreme drought events, with severe consequences for ecosystems. Recent evidence of ecological memory formation upon recurrent disturbances — defined as the capacity of past events to influence current ecosystem responses —, challenges our ability to simulate future ecosystem response to drought. Yet an important question remains: is ecological memory a fundamental feature regulating how ecosystem functioning responds to extreme climatic events? EcoMEMO aims at filling this large knowledge gap, with a focus on soil microbial communities, for which I previously showed ecological memory of drought. Soil microbes regulate important biogeochemical processes for carbon and nutrient cycling. They also possess an enormous taxonomic and functional diversity which allows for potential short-term adaptation. By embracing new approaches to study microbial ecology under drought conditions and new experimental facilities targeted to test ecological memory under realistic climate scenarios, I aim to quantify the importance of ecological memory of drought and identify its mechanisms. All this makes EcoMEMO potentially ground-breaking towards our understanding of soil microbial community response to climate change. My overarching hypothesis is that ecological memory is a common phenomenon in soil microbial communities, attenuating negative effects of extreme drought on the processes they mediate. I also hypothesize that microbial community transition to alternative stable states during exposure to extreme drought underpins the positive effect on biogeochemical cycling. Combining soil biogeochemistry, molecular ecology and mathematics I will: - quantify ecological memory across ecosystems and its consequence for soil processes; - assess legacies of previous drought events within soil biotic and abiotic properties; - identify features of soil microbial community dynamics underpinning ecological memory formation. |
