What are the relationships between microbial diversity, plant diversity, and ecosystem properties (e.g. remotely sensed indices of canopy structure, chemistry, and productivity)? How much variation in microbial function (i.e., abundances of genes related to key functions, including: N2 fixation; C, N, and P metabolism; and decomposition enzymes) can be explained by the functional traits of associated individual plants? Can additional variation in microbial function be explained by the species identity and/or phylogenetic position of associated plants, which would suggest an important role for unmeasured plant functional traits in plant-microbe interactions?
Plant Functional Traits
| Trait |
|---|
| Leaf mass per area (LMA) |
| Leaf sie |
| Maximum height |
| Wood density |
| Concentrations of carbon, nitrogen, phospohrus |
| Lignin |