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Category: Communication

Description: Although soil microbial communities, e.g., fungi and bacteria, are still largely considered a “black box”, their central role in ecosystem processes and function is indisputable. Despite the important role they play in carbon and nitrogen cycling, decomposition, and plant health there have been few attempts to incorporate soil microbial communities into conservation and restoration practice. In this talk, I will give an overview of my research pertaining plant- microbe interactions and how it has the potential to improve our understanding of plant-microbial dynamics in diverse ecosystems. Better understanding plant-microbial dynamics will also inform about the ecosystem-level processes and ecosystem health, e.g., decomposition rate, nutrient cycling, and plant nutrient acquisition. Finally, I will bring examples of our work that has practical applications for improving plant conservation and restoration outcomes.