Kristina Witzgall

PhD student @tumsoil | Curious about soils and biocrusts🦠🌵🇨🇱
| Musician | Born at 356 ppm 🌎

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

Incredibly happy to see my first paper published! 🍂🔬Here we show the functional role of decaying plant residues for regulating #SoilCarbon #peristence at the plant-soil interface. @CarstenWMueller @AlixVidal3 @tumsoil

➡️More info here: https://t.co/wL5yhmXcLk

[Nature Communications @NatureComms]

Microbial interactions at the interface between soil aggregates and plant litter control the fate of soil organic carbon@k_witzgall @alixvidal3 @geoschweizer @clairechenu2 @carstenwmueller
https://t.co/DX20YekmiK

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

@sinkgraphics @jul_schroeder @CarstenWMueller @kathrin_rousk @DrylandAlgae @Benjamin_DHesse @teegrams @tumsoil @CorelDRAW @inkscape Sweet, let's connect! ✨

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

We recently published our experiment on #climate #change impacts on #C #N cycling in biocrust-soil systems🦠🔍Curious about the work that goes into such a study? Here are some behind-the-scenes insights! 🧵Thread below, let's go!⤵️

Article available here: https://t.co/nCrb4GU3hS

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

@CarstenWMueller @kathrin_rousk @DrylandAlgae @Benjamin_DHesse @teegrams @tumsoil 13) Of course, I had my fair share of ups and downs during this experiment. But looking back, I’m so grateful for the experience and all the connections made along the way. Over and out! Oh, any questions? Talking about biocrusts is my favorite thing, so feel free to reach out!

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

@CarstenWMueller @kathrin_rousk @DrylandAlgae @Benjamin_DHesse @teegrams @tumsoil 12) After many great discussions with @kathrin_rousk @DrylandAlgae @CarstenWMueller & many more, I finally clicked the submit button—three years after starting the experiment planning 🍷 Of course, it was late at night, as submission took so much longer than expected #classic

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

@CarstenWMueller @kathrin_rousk @DrylandAlgae @Benjamin_DHesse @teegrams @tumsoil 10) Long hours in the phytotron chambers were replaced by long hours in the lab. I'm so grateful for the support I received from @Nardaluu @JanJansa8 my mother and many others in the lab. Each analysis added an important piece to the "biocrust puzzle"🧩🦠

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

@CarstenWMueller @kathrin_rousk @DrylandAlgae @Benjamin_DHesse @teegrams @tumsoil 9) As always, sampling was much harder and more time-consuming than expected—has anyone ever managed to stick to the sampling schedule?! Thankfully, I had the best support from @Nardaluu, Alma, & Jorge. Cumbia was blasting through the speakers to keep our motivation up 💃🎶

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

@CarstenWMueller @kathrin_rousk @DrylandAlgae @Benjamin_DHesse @teegrams @tumsoil 8) After ~5 months in the climate chambers, we took the samples to the lab and started with recording #hyperspectral images of their surfaces to quantify biocrust cover 🔬📸 This data later revealed some really intriguing changes in the systems exposed to #warming 🌡️@J_Guigue

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

@CarstenWMueller @kathrin_rousk @DrylandAlgae @Benjamin_DHesse @teegrams @tumsoil 7) To determine #respiration, we collected gas samples in the dark 🌒 We had the advantage of measuring all samples directly onsite outside the climate chambers where the incubation took place, using a #DeltaRayIsotope Ratio IR Spectrometer 🖥️📊

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

@CarstenWMueller @kathrin_rousk @DrylandAlgae @Benjamin_DHesse @teegrams @tumsoil 6) We pulse-labeled our samples with #13C and #15N 🫧 The blue glass beads did not only look snazzy but also helped reduce the headspace volume during 15N labeling. The 15N2 gas cost about half of our budget, so we did what we could to optimize its use! 💸💸

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

@CarstenWMueller @kathrin_rousk @DrylandAlgae @Benjamin_DHesse @teegrams @tumsoil 5) The day the incubation in the climate chambers officially started felt surreal! We had just received the samples a few days earlier (our incredible colleagues in Chile sampled for us as we couldn't go due to COVID restrictions) but everything worked out just in time🍀📦

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

@CarstenWMueller @kathrin_rousk @DrylandAlgae @Benjamin_DHesse @teegrams @tumsoil 4) Months of planning followed with @Benjamin_DHesse. One of the biggest challenges was figuring out how to capture CO2 fluxes from biocrusts and apply isotopic labeling #13C #15N 🫧 It took a lot of work, but was also so fun—it felt like being a kid in a creative playground🎨

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

@CarstenWMueller @kathrin_rousk @DrylandAlgae @Benjamin_DHesse @teegrams @tumsoil 3) With that fascination came the idea to design an experiment to understand the fate of the C and N fixed by biocrusts—where does it go in the soil? And do these pathways change when the systems are exposed to #climate #change? 🔥🌡️🍂

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

@CarstenWMueller @kathrin_rousk @DrylandAlgae @Benjamin_DHesse @teegrams @tumsoil 2) I was amazed that these tiny organisms, some invisible to the naked eye, could play such a crucial role—not only in the functioning of the ecosystems we were studying, but also in their influence of C and N fluxes in drylands at larger scales 🌎 Pictures by @CarstenWMueller 📷

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

@CarstenWMueller @kathrin_rousk @DrylandAlgae @Benjamin_DHesse @teegrams @tumsoil 1) It all started with a field campaign in Chile with @earth_shape, where I was first introduced to biocrusts by my colleagues @seitz_steffen and Oscar Seguel 🇨🇱🌵 I had never heard of them before but was instantly blown away. Pictures by @CarstenWMueller 📷

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

@DrylandAlgae It was such a pleasure to work together with you!

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

@kathrin_rousk @GlobalChangeBio @Nardaluu @CarstenWMueller The pleasure was all mine! 🦠💚

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

Final PhD paper out now in @GlobalChangeBio, where we show the fundamental role of #biocrusts in regulating soil C cycles in #drylands, and how some of the most essential #biogeochemical #processes are diminished under #climate #change @Nardaluu @CarstenWMueller (see link below)

[Kristina Witzgall @k_witzgall]

@GlobalChangeBio @Nardaluu @CarstenWMueller https://t.co/nCrb4GUB7q