2026-09-19T21:43:12Z https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/115459 2023-07-11 col_2142_5131 col_2142_16341 com_2142_5130 com_2142_8913 com_2142_8903

Yang, Wendy H Yang, Wendy H Yannarell, Anthony C Dalling, James Davis, Adam 2022-05 application/pdf en text Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2022-11-11 without embargo terms The student, Joseph Edwards, accepted the attached license on 2022-04-14 at 16:12. The student, Joseph Edwards, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2022-04-14 at 16:23. This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2022-04-21 at 15:16. DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #17676 on 2022-11-11 at 13:15:17 Determining the role of plant-soil-microbial relationships in forest ecosystem function and biogeochemistry Edwards, Joseph Douglas 2022-04-21 Microbial ecology biogeochemistry plant-microbial interactions forests ecosystem ecology invasive species DNA sequencing stable isotopes soil organic matter nitrogen deposition mycorrhizal fungi Plant-soil-microbial relationships are an essential component of ecosystem function; however, they remain critically underexplored relative to aboveground aspects of ecosystems. In my dissertation, I seek to better understand how interactions among plants, microbial communities, and their environment drive surrounding soil microbiome composition and biogeochemical processes in forests. This work integrates important global change factors like invasive species and increased anthropogenic nutrient deposition while taking a global perspective, spanning temperate and tropical ecosystems. In my first and second chapters, I show how the invasive species Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) has a dynamic relationship with soil microbial communities and nitrogen cycling processes over space and time. In my third chapter, I provide evidence for the important role fungal communities play in acquiring nitrogen from soil organic matter in a montane rainforest of Panama, and how this function is diminished under elevated nitrogen deposition. Finally, a focal component of my research is how the diversity of mycorrhizal relationships between plants and fungi influences their impact on ecosystems. I explore this in-depth in my last chapter, presenting a study investigating how ectomycorrhizal tree species and fungal communities differ in their associated effects on important ecosystem traits like soil organic matter dynamics and extracellular enzyme activities. Overall, my dissertation supports the inclusion of microbial communities as critical independent players in ecological phenomena, promoting the use of microbially-explicit paradigms and models in informing conservation decision-making and predicting ecosystem response to global change. My dissertation shows that the nature of plant-soil-microbial relationships is highly context-dependent, varying based on environmental conditions, temporal factors, and species diversity. Thesis eng https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115459 Copyright 2022 Joseph Edwards Ph.D. Dissertation Ecol, Evol, Conservation Biol University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Integrative Biology