Investigating the impact of grazing on the soil microbiome and belowground carbon cycling

Changing farming subsidies provides an opportunity for habitat restoration in Cumbria. So that resources are allocated effectively within these landscapes, restorative actions must be assessed for nature recovery and ecosystem service delivery. Given the history of herbivore overgrazing in Cumbria, evaluation of the impact of grazing exclusion on belowground biodiversity and carbon cycling is needed. This project aims to understand how Cumbrian soil microbiome diversity and community composition and soil organic matter (SOM) composition stores changes with grazing exclusion. I also aim to link these belowground indicators to assess changes in soil functions across grazing intensities. To do this, I will use soil samples collected in Cumbrian upland grazing exclusion plots and use amplicon-based metabarcoding to identify bacterial, archaeal, arthropodal and vertebrate diversity and use high-resolution mass spectrometry to classify extractable SOM compounds. This project combines the research interests of the Forest Ecology and Conservation group at the University of Cambridge, the motivations of the Centre for Landscape Regeneration collaboration and the expertise, interests and methodologies of the Ecosystems and Global Change Group at Trent University.

Faculty Supervisor:

Andrew Tanentzap

Student:

Partner:

University of Cambridge

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Education

University:

Trent University

Program: