We invite contributed abstracts (poster and oral presentations) to our session “Drought effects on soil processes and biogeochemical cycling” to be held at the Soil Science Society of America International meeting in San Diego, CA Jan 6-9, 2019. The meeting will be held in collaboration with the Canadian Society of Soil Science and the Mexican Society of Soil Science.
The early abstract submission deadline is July 24th (lower fees) while the final deadline is August 7th. To submit an abstract please visit : https://www.sacmeetings.org/submit Our confirmed speakers include: Asmeret Asewaf Berhe, Bonnie Waring, Bruce A Hungate, Charles Warren, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Joseph Blankinship, Omar Gutierrez del Arroyo, Peyton Smith, and Stephanie Kivlin. We look forward to seeing you in San Diego, -Pete Homyak, Eric Slessarev, and Josh Schimel Drought effects on soil processes and biogeochemical cycling Extended dry periods can affect both physiological and physical processes that control soil biogeochemical cycling. For instance, abiotic transformations can govern C and N cycling during dry periods when microbes are moisture stressed and dormant (or dead). Drought can also alter the physical structure and chemical nature of soil by controlling the extent of water-filled pores and solution ionic strength, which in turn influence microbial access to C and N. Because longer and more frequent droughts are expected with climate change, understanding how drought governs soil biogeochemical cycling is important if we are to predict changes in the direction and shape of ecosystem responses to arid conditions. We welcome contributions from landscape to microbial scales evaluating how drought affects soil processes, as well as questions such as i) How does drought influence microbial physiology, activity, and community structure? ii) How do interactions between physiological and physical processes during drought influence landscape-scale biogeochemical cycling?
