Stability, drought stress resilience and enhancement of growth/C gain through soil biodiversity in pure and mixed stands of beech, spruce and pine (StaBio)

For this purpose, three experimental levels will be considered. The first level evaluates the microbial diversity and growth of the pure stands across a gradient of drought in the Bavarian region. The second level aims to clarify the impact of the mixture of different species of trees on the microbial diversity and the stability of the forest. Finally, the third level evaluates the effect of long-term drought (performed in KROOF experiment) on the stand adaptation, particularly soil diversity.

To achieve these objectives, classical analysis of monitoring data (such as increment and climate) in combination with molecular diversity data of the soil microorganisms (fungi, bacteria, protists) will be used. Moreover, to identify some microbial key taxa,  third generation sequencing using Oxford Nanopore technology will be implemented to generate long-reads and reach a higher taxonomic resolution.