Transforming soil microbial ecology, one trait at at time!
Soil microbial ecology is experiencing an unprecedented era of biodiversity monitoring driven by next‑generation eDNA and multi‑omics approaches. As datasets grow and analytical tools—from advanced statistics to AI—become more powerful, a central bottleneck remains: linking microbial diversity to ecological function.
My lab focuses on closing this gap by integrating metabarcoding and other ‑omics data with trait‑based functional measurements. We combine field and laboratory experiments with protocol development and database building to translate microbial community data into mechanistic, functionally meaningful insights.
Ongoing projects
Soil carbon cycling - Mycelial network traits
Carbon cycling depends on the growth of saprotrophic fungi in soils. Growth occurs as a network of filaments, which are collectively known as mycelia. Until recently, the traits of this network were a black box. Using protocols we developed, we are now linking how variation in mycelial networks traits determines the impact of fungal diversity on carbon cycling.
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Untangling the F2 link: soil mesofauna-fungal grazing effects on soil carbon pools
Fungi strongly influence soil carbon dynamics through their enzymatic activity and extensive filamentous networks. However, these networks are continuously modified by soil mesofauna. Teaming up with the group of Dr. Sten Anslan, we investigate how interactions between fungi and soil animals cascade into changes in carbon cycling and storage in boreal forests.
Photo courtesy of Mark Unger
Dispersal: Spore traits
Dispersal is one of the most challenging stages for mutualistic and pathogenic fungi that depend on colonizing sessile plant hosts. This process relies on spores, whose functional traits reflects how fungi allocate resources to survive their journeys through the environment. We investigate variation in spore traits within and across mycorrhizal fungi and plant pathogens to uncover the evolutionary strategies shaping this poorly understood phase of fungal life.
Effect of intraspecific microbial trait variation on ecosystem processes
The soil microbiome is one of the most complex biological systems on Earth. Part of this complexity arises from the largely unquantified extent of variation in functional traits within and across microbial species. We quantify variation across genotypes and within genotypes through phenotypic plasticity, and link this variation to ecosystem processes in soil.
Decoding fungal network diversity
The history of soils has been shaped by fungal networks. Over millions of years, fungi have diversified into thousands of species built around this networked body plan. Yet we still know remarkably little about how evolution has generated such diverse fungal network phenotypes. As a transversal component of our research, we are building a fungal network phenotype database and collaborating with researchers at SynoSys at TU Dresden to uncover the mechanisms underlying the diversity of fungal networks.
Absidia_Video 2025-02-19
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Welcome to our lab!
We take a highly integrative and interdisciplinary approach to advance our understanding of fungal ecology. We develop new conceptual frameworks and empirical tools to identify the key traits that drive the functional diversity of fungi.
Dr. Carlos A. Aguilar-Trigueros
Research Group Leader
Soil functional ecology Lab
University of Jyväskylä
We are based at the beautiful University of Jyväskylä, right in the center of the Lake Region of Finland, surrounded by inspiring boreal landscapes!
Thanks to the support of
Research at the Aguilar Ecology Lab
