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Research lines
Research lines
1) Soil-Plant-Microbe interactions and their effects on soil structure
1) Soil-Plant-Microbe interactions and their effects on soil structure
I investigate the ecosystem service of soil fixation provided by different crop / forest systems with a focus on the mechanisms that underlie the soil aggregation processes. My aim is to determine how the function and role of different parts of a root system and the microbial communities provide (or not) this service of soil aggregation.
I have developed my research in field sites in erodible environments that represent natural forest, agroforest and organic farmlands in temperate maritime (UK) and Mediterranean regions (France). I am also interested in microbial Alpine ecology, so I have carried out research in the French Alps and the Mexican Pico de Orizaba . My research has been structured in two main blocks: correlative approaches (field studies) and experimental approaches (inoculation experiments and mesocosms experiments).
The field studies aim to understand the general trends in the relationships between microbial diversity and soil aggregate stability. We have collected samples at sites at three different climates (Subalpine, Temperate and Mediterranean) and different land uses (i.e. arable/crop, agroforest and forest). The philosophy is not to compare the results from the different field sites, but to identify similarities in relation to climate, type of soil and land use. We have studied relationships between soil aggregate stability, soil physical and chemical properties, bacterial and fungal structure and diversity and chemical exudates (e.g. Glomalin Related Soil Proteins).
This line of research has been developed along three research projects where I worked at three host organizations: INRAE, Montpellier (France), CEH, Wallingford (UK) and CNRS Montpellier (France).
Related publications:
Related publications:
Merino-Martín, L., Stokes, A., Gweon, H. S., Moragues-Saitua, L., Staunton, S., Plassard, C., Griffiths, R. I. 2021. Interacting effects of land use type, microbes and plant traits on soil aggregate stability. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 154, 108072.
Merino-Martín L., Griffiths R.I., Gweon H.S., Furget-Bretagnon C., Oliver A., Mao Z., Le Bissonnais Y., Stokes A. 2020. Rhizosphere bacteria are more strongly related to plant root traits than fungi in temperate montane forests: insights from closed and open forest patches along an elevational gradient. Plant Soil 450, 183–200.
Rossi, L., Mao, Z., Merino-Martín, L., Roumet, C., Fort F., Taugourdeau, O., Chevallier, T., Cardinael R., Le Fromin, N., Stokes A. 2020. Pathways to persistence: plant root traits alter carbon accumulation in different soil carbon pools. Plant Soil. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04469-5
Demenois, J., Merino-Martín, L., Fernandez Nuñez, N., Stokes, A., Carriconde F. 2020. Do diversity of plants, soil fungi and bacteria influence aggregate stability on ultramafic Ferralsols? A metagenomic approach in a tropical hotspot of biodiversity. Plant Soil 448, 213–229.
Moragues-Saitua, L., Merino-Martín, L., Stokes, A., Staunton S. 2019. Towards meaningful quantification of glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP), taking account of interference with the Coomassie Blue (Bradford) assay. Eur J Soil Sci; 70: 727– 735.
2) Eco-hydrological interactions in restored slopes from mining activities
2) Eco-hydrological interactions in restored slopes from mining activities
Mining restoration is a complex activity with natural abiotic processes developing interactively with ecological succession within newly constructed environments. Ecohydrological processes are imperative for the functioning of such ecosystems, with the behaviour of slopes playing a significant role in the evolution of restored landscapes. Slope behaviour and its influence on soil processes, such as runoff and erosion, can dramatically affect the constructed environment, as well as adjacent undisturbed ecosystems. We identified overland flow as a key driver of ecological succession, finding that overland flow volume directly influenced the control of water resources, and hence, successional processes. The identification of overland flow as a driver of both abiotic and biotic processes calls for it to be more widely considered as an ecological factor in restoration projects.
The scarcity of topsoil resources, a common problem throughout the mining industry, encourages research aimed at identifying alternative growth media. Incorporating hydrology into this research will yield data that informs restoration decisions and benefits restoration success. Moreover, failures in revegetation marked by poor results at some plant life stages calls for the incorporation of research on the biology of the different life stages of vegetation: seeds, seedlings and mature plants. A framework of four well defined logical steps, combining soil and vegetation sciences, is implemented as part of this research: 1) plant community and substrate definition, followed by optimizing 2) topsoil, 3) seeds and 4) plants.
Related publications:
Related publications:
Moreno-de-las-Heras, M., Merino-Martín, L., Saco, P.M., Espigares, T., Gallart, F., Nicolau J.M. 2020. Structural and functional control of surface-patch to hillslope-scale runoff and sediment connectivity in Mediterranean-dry reclaimed slope systems. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2855–2872.
Commander, L.E., Merino-Martín, L., Elliott, C.P., Miller, B.P., Dixon, K., Stevens, J., 2019. Demographic, seed and microsite limitations to seedling recruitment in semi-arid mine site restoration. Plant and Soil, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04081-2.
Merino-Martín, L., Commander, L., Mao, Z., Stevens, J.C., Miller, B.P., Golos, P.J. et al. (2017). Overcoming topsoil deficits in restoration of semiarid lands: Designing hydrologically favourable soil covers for seedling emergence. Ecological Engineering, 105, 102-117.
Merino-Martín, L., M. Moreno-de las Heras, T. Espigares, and J. M. Nicolau. 2015. Overland flow directs soil moisture and ecosystem processes at patch scale in Mediterranean restored hillslopes. Catena 133:71-84.
Merino-Martín, L., Moreno-de las Heras, S., Espigares, T., Nicolau, J.M. 2012. Hydrological heterogeneity in mediterranean-dry reclaimed landscapes: runoff and sediment yield of patches and slopes along a gradient of overland flow. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS) 16, 1305-1320, doi:10.5194/hess-16-1305-2012.
Merino-Martín, L., Breshears, D. D., Moreno-de las Heras, M., Villegas J. C., Pérez S., Espigares, T., Nicolau, J.M. 2012. Ecohydrological interrelationships between vegetation patches and soil hydrological properties along a disturbance gradient: how sources and sinks of runoff determine a restoration threshold. Restoration Ecology 20(3):360-368.
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