Abstract ID: 3.10008 | Not reviewed | Requested as: Poster | TBA | TBA

Alpine regions, which cover approximately 25% of the Earth’s land surface, host unique microbial communities that play critical roles in ecosystem functioning and resilience. Yet, the ecological significance of microbial diversity in these environments remains poorly understood. My dissertation seeks to clarify the role of microbial diversity in terrestrial ecosystems, with a particular focus on alpine soils. 

The research is structured around three core work packages(WPs): (1) mapping the relationships between soil microbial diversity, above-ground biodiversity, soil properties, and land use; (2) investigating microbial community dynamics across temporal and spatial gradients; and (3) assessing microbial community resilience to climate-related stressors under controlled conditions. Starting with the WP1, it will be centred on microbial communities across South Tyrol. The research will integrate existing data from Eurac’s Biodiversity Monitoring South Tyrol (BMS) project with new field and experimental data to examine relationships between microbial diversity in soil, soil properties, above-ground biodiversity and microbial function across various habitats. 

High-throughput sequencing approaches (e.g. metabarcoding and omics), functional inference and isotope probing will be combined with multivariate and network analyses to achieve these objectives. The results will contribute to predictive models of ecosystem function under climate change and inform biodiversity conservation and land-use strategies in alpine regions.