Spatial Complexity of Soils and Microbial Communities in Headwater Wetlands

Previous studies have documented changes in the structure of wetlands impacted by human activities, with focuses on hydrological connectivity, vegetative community composition, and soil properties. While the spatial distribution of microbial communities is generally thought of as random variability, these communities can both be altered by and drive changes in these structural properties, but these links and feedbacks are not well understood. In this project we have been looking at the relationship between soil properties and microbial communities, as measured by phospholipid fatty acid analysis (e.g., PLFA biomass, fungal-to-bacterial ratios and microbial composition), across a broad range of soil conditions found in headwater wetlands of Pennsylvania.