Feb 21 2024
Image curtesy of National Geographic and Eye of Science through Sue Grayston
In forest management, we spend a lot of time on the things we can see; charismatic megafauna, trees, pests and plants. But what about the things we can’t see? What if I told you there was an entirely unexplored ecosystem below our feet? One that has more biodiversity than we can imagine. This community is responsible for half of the carbon sequestration of the forest, and the maintenance of ecosystem function for above ground species. This life beneath our feet is as much responsible for the forests we love as the biggest trees and the cutest caribou. Let’s show it some love.
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Takeaways
New frontiers (10.17)
Cindy highlights that they found archaea populations in forest soil, a different type of organism which can also carry out nitrification of the soil.
Unseen but important (14.41)
Cindy shares that it is difficult to advocate for the importance and inclusion in forest management of organisms that can’t be seen.
A whole world in a spoon of soil (19.52)
Next-generation sequencing techniques help us understand the workings of organisms in the soil.
Microbial processes (24.51)
Sue describes the labelling techniques through which they label trees with heavy isotopes of carbon sources similar to the carbon from trees, allowing them to identify groups of organisms that are important in using that carbon.
Saving the world (30.20)
Sue spotlights the fact that many organisms spend all or some of their lives in the soil creating a link between organisms above and below. Forest soil microbes remove methane and nitrous oxide from the atmosphere and clean water waste.
Knowledge is power (34.41)
Cindy believes that understanding the workings of soil organisms is better than using chemicals for biological controls. Microbes process organic matter and help lock it into the soil.
How forest harvest affects microbial communities (48.40)
Sue found that dispersed retention in clear cuts has a better function in retaining microbial diversity and its functioning across the cut block. Cindy adds that mycorrhizal fungi communities depend on the dynamic flux created by trees.
Below-ground diversity leads to a resilient ecosystem (56.32)
Every plant species has its temperature range of comfort which is being affected due to climate change. Recent wildfires have also been devastating for the soil biome.
Inoculant seed zones (1.06.59)
Sue and Cindy talk about how unaffected forests can act as seed zones after a wildfire. Nitrogen fixers prevent the soil from declining if there is a wildfire again.
What’s below is as important as what’s above ground (1.22.33)
Cindy offers a different way of thinking about forest management - that sites can not only be saved but also improved using the understanding of below-ground ecosystems. She laments the lack of care with which soil is currently viewed.
Stand and landscape level diversity (1.36.21)
When there is a diversity of tree and plant species, there will also be below-ground diversity. Built into that maintenance of stand productivity is using improved genetic stocks that are programmed to grow faster as well as silviculture techniques.
Ongoing monitoring (1.41.45)
Cindy talks about the need to monitor soil biodiversity and measure key processes and the amount of soil organic matter, especially mineral-associated organic matter. She reinforces the need to develop resilient forests, and the first step would be to update forestry policies.