Most soil microbial ecology is studied in the upper 20 cm; yet, important microbes and processes occur below this depth. At the Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory and White Mountians Research Center, we have dug a series of soil pits to the weathered bedrock. I use these pits to study the microbial communities and their activity. With Kimber Moreland and Morgan Barnes studying soil carbon and phosphorus, respectively, I hope to link microbial communities with soil biogeochemical characteristics along the soil profile and across different environments.

Kimber Moreland (left), myself (center), and Morgan Barnes (right) collecting soils from this 2+ m pit!