Iceland/Antarctica

Ecosistemas microbianos líticos de áreas expuestas tras retroceso de glaciares. Sucesión ecológica, filodiversidad y geomicrobiología

P.I. Dr. Asución de los Ríos Murillo

Glaciers retreat is among the well-known effects of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems. Such retreat promotes the emergence of large amounts of land that become gradually exposed, which gives us the opportunity to study in situ changes with time in soil biogeochemistry and in plant communities.

In this project we are using chronosequences formed due to the retreat of glaciers in Iceland and Antarctica, to study changes in vegetal and microbial abundance and diversity, and in several biogeochemical variables, including potential microbial activity (microbial respiration, N mineralization and greenhouse gasses emissions. Also, to help understanding the effect of projected climate change on these systems, we are also investigating how microbial activity in these systems responds to different moisture and temperature levels.