Quantifying the contributions of the entire free-living soil nematode and protozoa communities to nitrogen mineralization and plant growth.

Protists and nematodes are estimated to contribute 25% of soil N mineralization, but such estimates have never been verified in realistic experimental settings. This project aims to quantify the role of protists and nematodes in soil nutrient cycling and plant growth at increasing complexity: from a few representative species to the entire community, and from simple to complex food webs.