Alpine Ecosystems Research Institute
Soil Biology Research
How does the soil biology research work?
Step one:
create research question
Research has shown that the biomass of bacteria and fungi correlate with plant health and the stage of ecological succession. Different plants need different bacterial and fungal biomass ratios, and those differences tend to stem from the successional stage in which the plant naturally grows. Weedy patches lack soil fungi, old growth forests are dominated by fungi, and most species edible by humans require a soil that have a balance of bacteria and fungi, plus their predators.
So one potential research question might be, "does this soil have the sufficient biomass of all the necessary functional groups to grow a particular plant species?"
Step two:
test the soil or compost
Soil biology samples can be taken by our soil biology expert Sari Dersam, or by yourself. You must read the Soil Biology Sampling Protocol before collecting samples for soil assessments.
Step 3
compare microbial activity to plant health
We use a brix refractometer to measure plant health. A brix refractometer is a way of measuring plant health in any given moment because it measures the sugar content in the leaf, which is a direct reflection of the amount of photosynthesis that is taking place. This allows us to compare microbial activity to plant health on a moment to moment basis.
Soil Biology Blog
$25/year
If you are interested in supporting our research and learning more about the benefits of soil microbes and soil restoration practices in southwest Montana, please consider joining our membership for access to our Soil Biology Blog! You can also gain access to all blog posts for free by signing up for a 1-month free trial.
