Drivers of methanogen abundance and activity in rewetted fens (A06)

• Subject Area: Organismic Interactions, Chemical Ecology and Microbiomes of Plant Systems ; Microbial Ecology and Applied Microbiology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 531801029

We will provide a census of methanogen identity, abundance and activity in rewetted fens, and their abiotic and biotic drivers by mapping the abundance and identity of methanogenic archaea in the Screening Sites. Furthermore A6 aims to assess their role for the GHG budget in rewetted fens by probing spatio-temporal compositional dynamics and activity relative to measured GHG fluxes, based on microbiomics, and process studies where feasible. A6 will investigate methanogens at all experimental levels of WETSCAPES2.0. Using cutting-edge proteomics, we will specifically look into the ecophysiology of novel, as yet poorly constrained methanogens, i.e. the methylotrophic Methanomassiliicoccales.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 410: WETSCAPES2.0: Sinks, Links and Legacies of Novel Ecosystems in Rewetted Fen Landscapes
• Applicant Institution: Universität Greifswald
• Project Heads: Professorin Dr. Dörte Becher; Professor Dr. Tim Urich