[Enviro-lunch] Enviro-lunch today at SRE 475

[Kyungjin Min]

[image: image.png]

Hello everyone,

This is a friendly reminder that Dr. Lauren Hale from USDA is visiting
today. Hope we see you all at SRE 475 (12-1 pm).

*Title:*
Utilizing rhizosphere microbiomes to improve soil health

*Abstract:*

Microorganisms drive Earth’s biogeochemical cycles, creating a habitable
planet and millennia of synergistic plant-microbe associations have
attributed microbial communities with multiple traits that promote plant
growth. Ecologists frequently associated highly functioning ecosystems with
plant and animal biodiversity, but is biodiversity so important in
microbial communities? There are many reasons to think not. We examined
fundamental relationships between soil microbial biodiversity and
functionality and revealed functional processes that were reliant on
biodiversity. However, these relationships shifted under different nutrient
limitations and for different functions. We would like to utilize these
insights to improve the sustainability of agricultural productions systems.
Many industries are reexamining the use of biological fertilizers for use
in agriculture. Environmentally- beneficial materials, such as biochar,
offer the potential to serve as inoculum carriers. We revealed that biochar
could support inoculum survival as well as less-sustainable carriers
currently used in industry. Further, biochar and other organic amendments
can impact microbial functions that promote plant growth during drought or
deficit irrigation. When microorganisms produce extra cellular
polysaccharides (EPS) on plant roots, the roots are protected from
desiccation. We examined EPS production in deficit irrigation systems in
soils amended with biochar, compost, or both and revealed that the
available carbon from compost was able to support higher microbial biomass
and EPS even when irrigation inputs were reduced. All these aims provide
mechanistic insights into the benefits of promoting agronomic practices
that support soil biological health. With these insights we can better
monitor the impacts of management practices and identify strategies that
promote optimal microbiomes.
*Bio:*
[image: Lauren_pic 650x350.jpg]


I am a Soil Microbiologist and I work in the Water Management Research Unit
at the ARS station in Parlier, California. This area is particularly
important because it is one of the world’s most productive regions;
producing fruit, vegetables, and nuts. The climate here and other factors
have created considerable concerns over water availability for growing
these products. As a unit we strive to improve irrigation strategies and
protect water quality. I contribute to these goals by investigating
microbial processes that affect water quality, such as nitrate leaching and
pesticide remediation. I also study plant-beneficial microorganisms, which
have a big impact on crop productivity, particularly under harsh conditions
like low water availability or in salinity-affected soils. To study
microbial communities and their activities, I use metagenomic technologies
to sequence microbial DNA and gas chromatography to detect microbial
biomarkers we extract from soils. I use statistical analyses to relate
microbial community metrics to soil chemistry data obtained in my lab or by
collaborators. The aims of these analyses are to understand the influence
of microorganisms on a process of interest and/ or to examine if some
practice is promoting or damaging what we consider to be a healthy soil
microbiome.

USDA webpage:
https://www.ars.usda.gov/pacific-west-area/parlier/sjvasc/wmr/people/lauren-hale/

KJ and Yang

Organizers for Spring 2020: KJ Min and Yang Yang
Faculty coordinator: Asmeret Asefaw Berhe


------
You can find the semester schedule below.

*Date *

*Speaker *

*Topic *

*2/6*

Yang Yang

@ UC Merced

Altitudinal patterns of nutrient fluxes and pools at the Sierra Nevada



*2/13*

Jing Yan

@ UC Merced

Where small-scale process matters: linking transport behaviors of
nano-sized colloids and rhizosphere water, nutrient dynamics to soil
ecosystem functions

*2/20*

Dipankar Dwivedi

@ Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

Biogeochemical controls on river water quality: Quantifying dynamic
surface-subsurface interactions using reactive transport models



*2/27*

Lauren Hale

@ USDA

Utilizing rhizosphere microbiomes to improve soil health

*3/5*

Alex Leven

@ Fugro

Working outside of the academia

*3/12*

Luna Reyes

@ UC Merced

Making a homepage using R



*3/19*

Eric Slessarev

@ Lawrence Livermore National Lab

Using the state-factor concept to model pedogenesis at the global scale





*3/26*

spring break



*4/2*

Zulema Valdez

@ UC Merced

Climate Change and Wildfire Sufferance among Rural California Residents

*4/9*

Caddie Bergren

@ UC ANR

Climate smart agriculture



*4/16*

Hannah Waterhouse

@ UC Davis

Managing greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural soils



*4/23*

TBD



*4/30*

Ryan Bart

@ UC Merced

Coupling ecohydrology with wildfires



*5/7*

Tracey Osborne

 @ UC Merced

TBD
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