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Researcher
Catherine Preece
- Research Expertise:I am a plant ecologist and my current work focuses on the impact of drought on plant-soil interactions. Recently, I am particularly interested in differences in root and rhizosphere traits between crops and their wild relatives. I also study the feedbacks between plant and soil function and diversity, and the importance of soil communities for ecosystem stability.
- Keywords:SOIL ECOLOGY, PLANT ECOLOGY, TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM, Biology
- Disciplines:Soil ecology, Terrestrial ecology, Plant ecology
- Research techniques:The techniques I use include: direct measurements of root exudates; analysis of exudate dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen; metabolomics analysis of exudates, plant tissues and soil; DNA amplicon sequencing of bacteria and fungi; measurement of community level physiological profiling of microbial communities; soil respiration (with infra-red gas analyser); photosynthesis (with LI-COR).
- Users of research expertise:Target users are other researchers in plant and soil eco-physiology, as well as agronomists and land-owners.