Spatial variability in polar soil ecosystems: An integrated study of genes, microbial biodiversity and landform evolution as a baseline for monitoring climate change

Project aim

By studying microbial within species adaptation, species distribution, ecosystem composition, structure and biogeochemical rates and functions, and relating these parameters to specific landforms at a range of spatial scales we aim to determine whether:

Aspects of the Antarctic environment influence the scales and rates of biogeochemical processes and soil microbial population dynamics.

and if so:

Whether polar soil ecosystems are more sensitive to anthropogenic climate change than temperate regions.