Uniting the micro- and macrobiome

Our overarching aim is to integrate microorganisms within our classical view of natural food webs.

For this, we have to link studies on the micro- and macrobiome across spatial and temporal scales, and one promising approach might be to focus on a diverse community associated with a keystone species.

In this project, we target the micro- and macrobiome of a keystone species in the European forests, the pedunculate oak Quercus robur. The main project aim will be divided into four work packages (WPs).

At the microscale, we will apply state-of-the-art microcosms to investigate the assembly of the seedling’s micro- and macrobiome under natural field conditions (WP1, 2022).

At the landscape scale, we will take advantage of an unprecedented 11-year spatial survey of insects and pathogens on oak to reveal how local and spatial processes shape the metacommunity dynamics of micro- and macroorganisms (WP2, 2022-2024).

At the continental scale, we will team up with a European network of scientists and schoolchildren to explore the relationship between past, present and future climate and the visible and invisible components of the oak food web (WP3, 2024). In WP4, we will synthesize our findings.

Taken together, our study advances the integration of microorganisms within the field of community ecology, which is crucial to answer fundamental questions about the forces that structure food webs, as well as to predict changes within these food webs due to anthropogenic disturbances.