For further details see:
University of Essex webpage
​EnvEAST DTP webpage 

Figure. Top panel shows the pathway of C as a root exudate after CO2 is incorporated during photosynthesis. Organism that can use the carbon sources (orange) will have an advantage over those who cannot (blue).

Duncan Sweeney

PhD Title:
How plant-microbe interactions affect soil functioning

This project aims to disentangle how plants affect belowground soil diversity and functioning in relation to environmental extremes, expanding the current understanding on how plants and agricultural practices influence soil health and contributions to climate change.

• As we are highly dependent on agricultural production it is necessary to gain a full understanding on how agricultural systems affect soil health, including their ability to contribute to the Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus cycles.
  
• Soil health is defined here by the capacity of a soil to function effectively for its purpose, in this case, to sustain the life for plants and animals.
  
• Plants drastically affect belowground microbiota (bacteria, fungi and nematodes amongst others) by providing essential carbon sources for these organisms (figure 1). In turn these organisms perform vital functions for soil health, such as cycling macro and micronutrients into bioavailable forms and altering soil structure.
  
• As many stress-inducing conditions (e.g. drought) affect global agricultural systems it has become important to understand the long-term effects they can have on soil health. In response to stress plants alter the composition and concentrations of the carbon compounds they release, altering the belowground microbial community and therefore their capacity to perform soil functions.