microbial ecology

http://www.nature.com/ismej/journal/v5/n9/pdf/ismej201122a.pdf

The ISME Journal (2011) 5, 1540–1548
Microbial community composition in sediments resists perturbation by nutrient enrichment
Jennifer L Bowen et al.

Functional redundancy in bacterial communities is expected to allow microbial assemblages to
survive perturbation by allowing continuity in function despite compositional changes in
communities. Recent evidence suggests, however, that microbial communities change both
composition and function as a result of disturbance. We present evidence for a third response:

Laurent Philippot
Bonnie Bassler
Vigdis Torsvik

A critical gap in making progress toward ecologically beneficial farming practices is an explicit understanding of how soils store carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) over the long term. Farmers are facing new challenges that require management practices for improving soil quality, increasing both belowground (live roots) and aboveground (live cover) biomass, increasing soil organic matter, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. To identify optimal man¬agement strategies, an understanding of microbial processes that regulate C and N cycling is essential.