Work Package 1. Understand the biology and function of soil organisms or communities that mediate the processes of biogeochemical cycling (water, nutrients and pollutants) and pollutant removal.

PI: Steve McGrath

Key hypothesis: Exploitation of molecular and other novel methods will enable understanding of sustainable soil function by identifying key microorganisms involved in nutrient cycling, greenhouse gas emissions and pollutant removal and permit new management techniques that manipulate these microorganisms to sustain soil and environmental quality.

Key targets:

• To identify the impact of the presence and absence of plant inputs on microbial diversity and activity of key microbial groups in soil.
• Develop methods for measuring the chemical species of both essential and contaminant elements in order to understand their bioavailability and plant uptake.
• Characterise the uptake, efflux and accumulation of trace elements in plants in different soils and environmental conditions.

This WP has six key components:

1. Denitrification as a model process for studying the importance of soil biodiversity to soil function and process.
2. The role of carbon (C) in controlling denitrification.
3. The impacts of pollutants on soil organisms and crops.
4. The study of the spatial variation of soil microbial diversity.
5. The impacts of plants on soil processes.
6. Biofilms.