Institute of Parasitology
Topic
Diversity of soil nematodes living in the soil of Carpathian forests in relation to biotic and abiotic environmental conditions
PhD. program
Zoology, daily form
Name of the supervisor
Ing. Andrea Čerevková, PhD.
Contact:
Receiving school
Comenius University, Bratislava
Annotation
Climate change is currently one of the biggest environmental, social and economic threats. An increase in the average overall temperature in Europe is predicted as result in an increased frequency of climate extremes. In such conditions, there is a high probability that vulnerable forest ecosystems will be exposed to the increased frequency and intensity of stress caused by the living components of the environment. One of them is non-native, invasive plant species that can completely change the original forest habitats.
The objective of the PhD thesis is to explore the structure and diversity of soil nematode communities and the physical-chemical properties of soil, within natural forest ecosystems impacted by the invasion of non-native plant species. The evaluation of the soil environment in both original and invasion-altered ecosystems will be conducted using specific ecological, functional, and diversity indices. The research includes collection of soil samples from Carpathian forests ecosystems; physical-chemical analysis; isolation, identification of soil nematodes on genus level, and subsequent assessment of soil nematode communities as bioindicators of the soil environment. This finding could predict the potential impact of the spread of non-native tree species on the biodiversity of the Carpathian forests.
The objective of the PhD thesis is to explore the structure and diversity of soil nematode communities and the physical-chemical properties of soil, within natural forest ecosystems impacted by the invasion of non-native plant species. The evaluation of the soil environment in both original and invasion-altered ecosystems will be conducted using specific ecological, functional, and diversity indices. The research includes collection of soil samples from Carpathian forests ecosystems; physical-chemical analysis; isolation, identification of soil nematodes on genus level, and subsequent assessment of soil nematode communities as bioindicators of the soil environment. This finding could predict the potential impact of the spread of non-native tree species on the biodiversity of the Carpathian forests.