Project Leader:   
William Mohn

Lead Institution:   
University of British Columbia

Technology Applications:   
Microbial physiology, microbial genomics, biodegradation

Research Funding Program:   
Applied Genomics Innovation Program


The health of the microbial ecosystem of forest soil is crucial to sustainable forest management. There are extremely complex and vital interactions that occur between species of microorganisms in the forest soil. These metabolic interactions are essential to maintain proper nutrient balance and recycling in the soil that ultimately leads to a healthier forest. Understanding and monitoring the genetic and metabolic diversity of the microbial communities is essential to the sustainability of one of the most important renewable resources in British Columbia.

The researchers hope to develop a practical test to measure how soil microbial ecosystems are affected by human and natural disturbances.

The tests developed by this research will be used to monitor the overall health of the microbial communities in the soil. Tests to determine soil health will provide a more accurate method of determining the effectiveness of management policies to sustain the forest resource.

The soil is the site of many essential biogeochemical cycles that are driven by the many microbial organisms that exist there and are ideal indicators of forest health. This project will employ genomic technologies to investigate the diversity and potential of the microbial community. The tests developed will assess microbial community composition, metabolomic profiles and genetic expression patterns.

The new research will be integrated with existing data from the Long-term Soil Productivity study being conducted by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range and will be a uniquely comprehensive survey of soil microbial health and genetic potential.