The Best Oral Presentation Award was presented toThomas Murphy (Slowing the flow“The impact of woodland creation on soil properties in Dartmoor flood risk catchments.") by Professor Wilfred Otten at the 2019 ECR Conference at the University of Sheffield (16th and 17th April 2019).
The Best Poster Award was presented to Katy Faulkner ("Resilience of forest soil and root-associated microbial communities to extreme weather events") by Professor Wilfred Otten at the 2019 ECR Conference at the University of Sheffield (16th and 17th April 2019).
Researchers report that the distribution of forest types worldwide is based on the relationships plant species forged with soil microbes to enhance their uptake of nutrients. These symbioses could help scientists understand how ecosystems may shift as climate change alters the interplay between plants, microbes and soil.
Plant occurrence data are typically more abundant than soil samples in poorly known areas, and researchers from Finland and Brazil have now developed a method that uses both plant and soil data to produce a map of soil properties.