Microbial Rewilding: Countering Anthropogenic Disturbance in Forestry

Human activities associated to positive land use like agriculture and plantation forestry or due to catastrophes like forest fires all disturb microbial diversity in soils. This leads to a lag in nutrient cycling, increased greenhouse gas emission, and poorly established trees. But, can we actually do anything to rectify this? Healthy soil is not inert; it is teaming with life, with a level of complexity in microbe-microbe and microbe-plant interactions necessary for sustaining productivity and resilience in the face of variable climate. In this interactive workshop, we will hear about how developments in technology are opening new windows of understanding pertaining to how fungal activity supports sustainability and productivity in plantation forestry. Jonathan will cover some practical ways that property owners can tackle rewilding different beneficial fungal species needed for peak plantation activity, and discuss how we can work together with research organisations to improve our understanding of Australian mycology that will benefit future initiatives seeking to improve industry and ecosystem sustainability. This workshop will be led by Associate Prof. Jonathan Plett; a faculty member of the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at Western Sydney University. Jonathan is a pioneer in decoding the signalling exchange between beneficial microbes and their host plant. This work results in more productive tree plantations and agricultural systems.