Lucia Nikolaeva-Reynolds

Investigating the impact of environmental change on soil microbiome function

The project:

As soil scientist Charles E. Kellogg once said, “All life depends upon the soil… There can be no life without soil and no soil without life.” In the face of a developing climate crisis, soil is fundamental to sustaining life on Earth and plays a crucial role in either mitigating or accelerating climate change. Soils store more than three times as much carbon as the atmosphere and currently lock away around a quarter of human fossil fuel emissions.

Soil microbes, including bacteria and fungi, are central to this process. They drive the cycling of key nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen, and carbon, supporting plant growth while helping to stabilise carbon in soils. However, climate change and unsustainable land use are altering microbial activity. These changes could disrupt the balance between carbon storage and release, potentially turning soils from a net carbon sink into a net carbon source and impacting ecosystem functioning.

My research investigates how soil microbial communities respond to environmental change - specifically how nutrient availability, elevated CO₂, and soil type interact to influence microbial nutrient cycling. Lucia combines field experiments in the Peak District with controlled laboratory studies and molecular approaches to understand how these communities function. Ultimately, this work aims to improve our ability to predict and manage soil responses in a changing climate.

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