Krista Peltoniemi

Ecological research on soil microbes and soil organisms, investigations of community structure and function as a result of various environmental changes using eDNA methods (amplicons, metagenomes) directly from environmental samples. The groups studied include: methane cycle microbes (methanotrophs, methanogens), fungi (symbiotic and decomposers), bacteria, and soil animals. The research environments vary according to the projects, from boreal forests to peatlands (both natural and forested peatlands) and agricultural fields. In my projects, I have studied and continue to study the effects of ash fertilization, climate warming, reindeer grazing, organic farming, recycling-based soil amendments, biochar, and restoration on soil organisms. In the ongoing SOFASU project funded by the Research Council of Finland, I am researching soil animal diversity using eDNA and their role as drivers of sustainable agriculture. I am the coordinator for the boreal region in the H2020-funded EU project (SoildiverAgro), where we study the effects of organic farming on European wheat fields and develop farming methods that ensure sustainable and soil biological diversity in agricultural lands, also considering socio-economic perspectives. With Biodiversa+ funding, I am studying changes in soil microbes in restored peatlands in the MiDiPeat project, together with changes in vegetation and peat quality and their connection to greenhouse gases.