Understanding how plant roots regulate soil ecosystem responses to drought

Soils hold vast amounts of organic carbon, and keeping this carbon in soils and out of the atmosphere is critical in the fight against climate change. We seek a student who is interested in how plants and soil microbes interact to determine the fate of carbon in soils. Specifically, this project aims to understand how tree root responses to drought can shape microbial activity in the “rhizosphere”, the soil immediately surrounding the root. Work for the project will be mostly based in the greenhouse and the lab, and the selected student will work closely with both Professor Marinos and a Ph.D. student working on similar topics. Using experimental drought manipulations on plants equipped with special root access windows, the student will work to quantify movement of both water and plant-derived organic carbon in the rhizosphere. The ultimate goal of the project is to improve model representation of ecosystem drought stress. This overall project is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, and this position is offered through UB’s Experiential Learning Network. 

By the end of this research experience, the student will have developed:
• The ability to produce high-quality scientific data with supervision, through safe and careful practices in the greenhouse and laboratory.
• Proficiency in use of analytical chemistry equipment to perform standard biogeochemical assays.
• Sufficient data to present research at a disciplinary conference and to be co-author on a manuscript.
• Disciplinary knowledge in plant-soil-microbe interactions, sufficient to present research findings confidently.
• A plan to structure the remainder of their undergraduate degree toward attaining a career as a research scientist, or other career objectives as appropriate. (We take mentorship and professional development seriously in the lab!)

Standard EH&S lab safety training
Read the attached papers: 

• https://buffalo.app.box.com/s/cg03dkdilwai60rub6rw3ynw91yygr9i
  
• https://buffalo.app.box.com/s/0uw3fatpit1opib1dkw9dr2ylg6h9se0
  

geology, environment and sustainability, biology, environmental engineering, soil, climate change, ecology, plant ecophysiology, environmental chemistry, geochemistry,