Microbial Ecology of Comammox Bacteria

We are investigating the abundance and competitiveness of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in Northeast forest soils including those at Bartlett Experimental Forest (NH, USA), and Huntington Experimental Forest (NY, USA). Nitrification is one of the most important processing in the N-cycle because it can lead to not only the removal of an important nutrient (nitrogen), but significant nitrous oxide emissions to the atmosphere. Understanding the importance of these key microbial community members will be important to understanding how these forests adapt to climate change and other anthropogenic factors.