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Soil Microbiology and Sustainable Crop Production pp 373–397Cite as

How Will Climate Change Impact Soil Microbial Communities?

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Abstract

More than a century ago Svante Arrhenius predicted that continued combustion of fossil fuels would lead to a doubling of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and associated climate warming (Arrhenius 1896). Despite this warning, we are now faced with the predicted doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide and global temperature increase of 1.3°C by the end of this century if no policy changes are made (Cubasch et al. 2001). Furthermore, not only are we faced with rising global temperature but also shifting weather patterns, ocean acidification, and the potential loss of many species on earth (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2001). These factors will all have a marked impact on land use, land cover, soil quality, and productivity.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the members of the Balser laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, especially Dr. Harry Read and Kevin Budsberg, for their untiring support and assistance. We would also like to thank Dr. Chris Field, Dr. Nona Chiariello, and supporting staff at the Jasper Ridge Global Change Experiment where much of our own work has taken place. Finally we thank the book editors for their valuable comments in strengthening this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1525 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Teri C. Balser & Chao Liang

  2. Department of Soil Ecology, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Theodor-Lieser-Str, 4, D06120, Halle (Saale), Germany

    Jessica L. M. Gutknecht

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  1. Teri C. Balser
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  2. Jessica L. M. Gutknecht
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  3. Chao Liang
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Correspondence to Teri C. Balser .

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  1. , School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AS, United Kingdom

    Geoffrey R. Dixon

  2. Scottish Universities Environmental Rese, Scottish Enterprise Technology Park, East Kilbride, G75 0QF, United Kingdom

    Emma L. Tilston

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Balser, T.C., Gutknecht, J.L.M., Liang, C. (2010). How Will Climate Change Impact Soil Microbial Communities?. In: Dixon, G., Tilston, E. (eds) Soil Microbiology and Sustainable Crop Production. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9479-7_10

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