PNNL

Abstract

Soils are vitally important and yet one of the most poorly understood ecosystems. Many fundamental questions surrounding soil microbial ecology remain unanswered due in part to the missing microbial perspective. This stems from inherent difficulties of studying soil microorganisms in their soil environment. In particular, vast differences in size between microorganism, soil ecosystems, and global processes presents grand challenges for multi-scale predictive modeling of ecosystem function. In this perspective, we argue that quantifying the microbial perspective is crucial for predicting and responding to a changing world with examples of how such considerations can address unknowns in soil microbial ecology. With advancing technologies, the field is poised to address this challenge and we present a vision for integrating microorganisms into soil ecosystem models.