Michael P Ricketts

The exponential growth of the human population has profoundly influenced many, if not all, earth system processes (atmospheric, geologic, hydrologic, biospheric, etc.). Rapid environmental changes such as altered weather patterns, introduction of invasive species, and land-use change have forced many species to adjust or die, resulting in numerous ecologically linked cascading effects. Soil microorganisms are uniquely important in that they play a key role in regulating many critical biogeochemical cycles and ecosystem functions, including carbon cycling and storage, nitrogen transformations (i.e., nitrogen fixation, nitrification, and denitrification), and plant litter and organic matter decomposition. They are also closely linked with plant communities, having co-evolved over millions of years, via rhizospheric interactions. The purpose of my research is to examine how anthropogenic environmental changes might affect soil microbial community composition and function, and determine how these shifts will affect biogeochemical cycling and plant nutrient uptake, fitness, and community structure. This research will reveal changes in phylogenetic soil community structure, examine how these changes affect microbial metabolic preferences and extracellular enzymatic functional potentials, and lead us to a better understanding of how soil microorganism’s responses to a changing planet will shape the future world.