Steven D. Allison Research Group

University of California, Irvine

How do soil microbes respond to drought and affect ecosystem carbon cycling? The Allison Lab measures microbial physiological characteristics and integrates trait-based theory to explain microbial ecological roles. The group combines experiments and models across scales from genomes to the planet to analyze microbial diversity, functioning, and evolution. Researchers build new mathematical models and tools to test and compare soil carbon model performance and predict the fate of global soils. The lab conducts warming experiments (for example in Alaska) to observe microbial and ecosystem responses to rapid climate change.