This project will use paddy soil as a model system, will investigate the changes in microbial communities and strictures along the redox gradient. It will then address the biogeochemistry of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and iron (Fe), with special reference to microbial ecology. Using approaches of molecular ecology, metagenomics as well spectroscopic methods, it will investigate: 1) the complexity and fingerprint of microbial community in paddy soils; 2) the surface chemistry of microbe-soil interactions; 3) the biogeochemical coupling of C-N-Fe in paddy soils, with particular focus on microbial ecology; 4) the mechanisms of sustainability of paddy soil fertility, such as the accumulation of C and N; 5) the translocation and transformation of contaminants, particularly in the rhizosphere. Finally it will aim to establish models describing biogeochemical processes in paddy soils at various scales. |
