The comparison between microbial sequencing data is critical to understand the dynamics of microbial communities. The alignment-based tools analyzing metagenomic datasets require reference sequences and read alignments. The available alignment-free dissimilarity approaches model the background sequences with Fixed Order Markov Chain (FOMC) yielding promising results for the comparison of microb...

Chapter 1 introduced the index and indicator concept and outlined a number of microorganisms (and groups of microorganisms) that have been adopted in the quest to determine whether or not drinking water is microbiologically safe to drink. This chapter examines the range of both microbial and non-microbial parameters and briefly outlines their uses and applications. It is intended to act as an i...

Differential equations used to describe the original and modified Geeraerd models were, respectively, simplified into an explicit equation in which the integration of the specific inactivation rate with respect to time was numerically approximated using the Simpson's rule. The explicit numerical solutions were then used to simulate microbial survival curves and fit nonisothermal survival data f...

Recent studies have greatly increased our knowledge of microbial ecology of the indoor environments in which we live and work. However, the number of studies collecting robust, long-term data using standardized methods to characterize important building characteristics, indoor environmental conditions, or human occupancy e collectively referred to as “built environment data” e remain limited. I...

Long-term carbon (C) cycle feedbacks to climate depend on the future dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC). Current models show low predictive accuracy at simulating contemporary SOC pools, which can be improved through parameter estimation. However, major uncertainty remains in global soil responses to climate change, particularly uncertainty in how the activity of soil microbial communities w...

Continuously rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations may lead to an increased transfer of organic C from plants to the soil through rhizodeposition and may affect the interaction between the C- and N-cycle. For instance, fumigation of soils with elevated CO2 (eCO2) concentrations (20% higher compared to current atmospheric concentrations) at the Giessen Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (GiFACE)...

Arid ecosystems are characterized by high spatial heterogeneity, and the variation among vegetation patches is a clear example. Soil biotic and abiotic factors associated with these patches have also been well documented as highly heterogeneous in space. Given the low vegetation cover and little precipitation in arid ecosystems, soil microorganisms are the main drivers of nutrient cycling. None...