Michael N. Weintraub
Asociate Professor
Soil Ecology
University of Toledo
Spain
Biography
Global climate change, nutrient deposition, changes in plant community composition, increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and other disturbances all alter important ecosystem properties, such as nutrient availability and decomposition rates. However, in many cases they don’t understand the mechanisms underlying important ecosystem processes well enough to predict the effects of disturbances. Because soil microorganisms control these processes, they need a better understanding of their role to predict how ecosystems will respond to changes. In an effort to improve our understanding of how ecosystems function and predict their responses to disturbances, his goal is to gain insight into the controls on soil nutrient dynamics and SOM decomposition by linking the ecology of soil microorganisms to ecosystem processes.
Research Interest
Soil Ecology, Ecosystem Ecology, Plant-Soil Interactions, Biogeochemistry
