Three-dimensional microorganization of the soil–root–microbe system

Debbie S. Feeney, John W. Crawford, Tim Daniell, Paul D. Hallett, Naoise Nunan, Karl Ritz, Mak Rivers, Iain M. Young

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

151 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Soils contain the greatest reservoir of biodiversity on Earth, and the functionality of the soil ecosystem sustains the rest of the terrestrial biosphere. This functionality results from complex interactions between biological and physical processes that are strongly modulated by the soil physical structure. Using a novel combination of biochemical and biophysical indicators and synchrotron microtomography, we have discovered that soil microbes and plant roots microengineer their habitats by changing the porosity and clustering properties (i.e., spatial correlation) of the soil pores. Our results indicate that biota act to significantly alter their habitat toward a more porous, ordered, and aggregated structure that has important consequences for functional properties, including transport processes. These observations support the hypothesis that the soil–plant–microbe complex is self-organized.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)151-158
Number of pages8
JournalMicrobial Ecology
Volume52
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2006

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soil pore system
soil transport processes
habitats
soil microorganisms
functional properties
porosity
soil
biodiversity
soil ecosystem
organisms
habitat
transport process
biological processes
biosphere
biota
soil ecosystems
indicator
physical process

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Feeney, D. S., Crawford, J. W., Daniell, T., Hallett, P. D., Nunan, N., Ritz, K., ... Young, I. M. (2006). Three-dimensional microorganization of the soil–root–microbe system. Microbial Ecology, 52(1), 151-158. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-006-9062-8
Feeney, Debbie S. ; Crawford, John W. ; Daniell, Tim ; Hallett, Paul D. ; Nunan, Naoise ; Ritz, Karl ; Rivers, Mak ; Young, Iain M. / Three-dimensional microorganization of the soil–root–microbe system. In: Microbial Ecology. 2006 ; Vol. 52, No. 1. pp. 151-158.
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Feeney, DS, Crawford, JW, Daniell, T, Hallett, PD, Nunan, N, Ritz, K, Rivers, M & Young, IM 2006, 'Three-dimensional microorganization of the soil–root–microbe system', Microbial Ecology, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 151-158. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-006-9062-8

Three-dimensional microorganization of the soil–root–microbe system. / Feeney, Debbie S.; Crawford, John W.; Daniell, Tim; Hallett, Paul D.; Nunan, Naoise; Ritz, Karl; Rivers, Mak; Young, Iain M.

In: Microbial Ecology, Vol. 52, No. 1, 07.2006, p. 151-158.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

TY - JOUR

T1 - Three-dimensional microorganization of the soil–root–microbe system

AU - Feeney, Debbie S.

AU - Crawford, John W.

AU - Daniell, Tim

AU - Hallett, Paul D.

AU - Nunan, Naoise

AU - Ritz, Karl

AU - Rivers, Mak

AU - Young, Iain M.

PY - 2006/7

Y1 - 2006/7

N2 - Soils contain the greatest reservoir of biodiversity on Earth, and the functionality of the soil ecosystem sustains the rest of the terrestrial biosphere. This functionality results from complex interactions between biological and physical processes that are strongly modulated by the soil physical structure. Using a novel combination of biochemical and biophysical indicators and synchrotron microtomography, we have discovered that soil microbes and plant roots microengineer their habitats by changing the porosity and clustering properties (i.e., spatial correlation) of the soil pores. Our results indicate that biota act to significantly alter their habitat toward a more porous, ordered, and aggregated structure that has important consequences for functional properties, including transport processes. These observations support the hypothesis that the soil–plant–microbe complex is self-organized.

AB - Soils contain the greatest reservoir of biodiversity on Earth, and the functionality of the soil ecosystem sustains the rest of the terrestrial biosphere. This functionality results from complex interactions between biological and physical processes that are strongly modulated by the soil physical structure. Using a novel combination of biochemical and biophysical indicators and synchrotron microtomography, we have discovered that soil microbes and plant roots microengineer their habitats by changing the porosity and clustering properties (i.e., spatial correlation) of the soil pores. Our results indicate that biota act to significantly alter their habitat toward a more porous, ordered, and aggregated structure that has important consequences for functional properties, including transport processes. These observations support the hypothesis that the soil–plant–microbe complex is self-organized.

U2 - 10.1007/s00248-006-9062-8

DO - 10.1007/s00248-006-9062-8

M3 - Article

VL - 52

SP - 151

EP - 158

JO - Microbial Ecology

JF - Microbial Ecology

SN - 0095-3628

IS - 1

ER -

Feeney DS, Crawford JW, Daniell T, Hallett PD, Nunan N, Ritz K et al. Three-dimensional microorganization of the soil–root–microbe system. Microbial Ecology. 2006 Jul;52(1):151-158. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-006-9062-8

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