NIMBioS Investigative Workshop
New Soil Black Box Math Strategies
Group photo, NIMBioS Investigative Workshop on New Soil Black Box Math Strategies
Topic: New Strategies for the Black Box: Identifying mathematical tools for elucidating plant-soil interactions
Meeting dates: October 15 - 17, 2009
Organizers:
Alison E. Bennett
(The James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee, Scotland UK; formerly a postdoctoral fellow at the
Dept. of Entomology, Univ. of Wisconsin);
James Umbanhowar (Dept. of Biology, Univ. of North Carolina)
| Agenda (PDF) | Participants | Evaluation report (PDF) |
Objectives. Soil-plant interactions structure life as we know it. Research has demonstrated that individual plant communities, species and even individual genotypes can cultivate distinct soil communities of decomposers, mutualists, and pathogens. Various components of the plant-soil interaction have been explored, but few of these explorations have been integrated across ecological scales or included more than one component of the soil community. Similarly, individual theoretical approaches have focused on select groups (e.g. mutualists, decomposers, and pathogens) while excluding many soil organisms (e.g. soil fauna). In addition, theoretical approaches have rarely examined these groups at the same organizational scale, making it difficult to develop a comprehensive picture of plant-soil interactions. By extending our models to explore all levels of organization, we can take steps to building a comprehensive picture of plant-soil interactions that can then inform basic science as well as applied science, including restoration, conservation, and global change. During the Investigative Workshop, participants had the opportunity to identify theoretical frameworks for expanding our knowledge and driving the future of plant-soil interactions.
Summary Report. During the workshop, 32 participants collaborated to extend old and to build new models to explore all levels of organization in plant-soil interactions. Participants developed models exploring a wide variety of organisms (e.g., mutualists and decomposers) and abiotic factors (e.g., soil structure) and utilizing mathematical and computational tools. Participants focused on modeling specific questions as well as developing an overall understanding of current and future models and theory in soil-plant interactions. Five sub-groups formed to tackle specific questions, and each plans to produce at least one publication containing a mathematical model that addresses that issue. In addition, as a whole, the group developed a chart showing previous theoretical and mathematical explorations of soil-plant interactions, and this information will be published in a paper authored by the workshop participants. Several groups plan to meet again at NIMBioS to finalize their models, and two groups are preparing Working Group applications to further explore the evolution of soil pathogens and game theory within mutualisms.
NIMBioS Investigative Workshops focus on broad topics or a set of related topics, summarizing/synthesizing the state of the art and identifying future directions. Organizers and key invited researchers make up half the 30-40 participants in a workshop, and the remaining 15-20 participants are filled through open application from the scientific community. Open applicants selected to attend are notified by NIMBioS within two weeks of the application deadline. Investigative Workshops have the potential for leading to one or more future Working Groups. Individuals with a strong interest in the topic, including post-docs and graduate students, are encouraged to apply. If needed, NIMBioS can provide support (travel, meals, lodging) for Workshop attendees.
