University thesis:
Dissertation, Bangor University, 2017
Footnote:
(For co-evaluation at the University of Göttingen)
Description:
Microorganisms are the key drivers of most processes in soil. Therefore, factors regulating microbial composition, functions and activities are hot topics in soil science. Focusing on forest ecosystems, this PhD aimed to evaluate: i) abiotic (temperature and precipitation) and biotic (trees species identity) factors regulating the composition of microbial communities in forest soils, ii) the effects of forest biodiversity on microbial decomposition of organic polymeric compounds of plant litter and iii) the effects of intrinsic properties of common low molecular weight organic substances (L