Department of Forest and Ecosystem Science - Creswick Seminar Series
Molecular ‘fingerprints’ of soil microbial diversity
Dr Lauren Bennett, Research Fellow, DFES
Friday 17th October, 9:30am, Stage 2 Lecture Theatre, Creswick Campus
Soil microbes (fungi, bacteria, archaea) are the hidden majority of biodiversity. They play a central role in soil processes – and are thus critical to ecosystem function – but remain under-examined in Australia’s native ecosystems.
Traditional culture-based methods show only the tip of the iceberg in regard to the diversity and complexity of soil microbial ecology. Molecular methods such as terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) represent new power for interrogating and comparing complex microbial communities. This seminar will summarise recent experiences in using T-RFLP to compare soil fungal composition within native ecosystems (remnant buloke woodlands), and among different land-uses (native eucalypt forest, eucalypt and pine plantations, pasture). Among the first applications of this method in Australian natural systems, the data provide clear evidence of a role for molecular methods in improved understanding of land-use effects and of spatial soil ecology.
Lauren's Biography
Lauren Bennett is Research Fellow (Ecosystem Processes) at the Department of Forest and Ecosystem Science, The University of Melbourne. She has long-held research interests in assessing condition of soil and plants in native Australian ecosystems. Her PhD (1990 – 93) examined potential causes of the decline of Banksia integrifolia woodlands at Wilson’s Promontory, particularly changes in soil and plant nutrient status. Subsequent research programs examined nutritional requirements of plantation eucalypts, and nutrient cycles in semi-arid tussock grasslands. Her recent venture into soil genetic methods was somewhat inevitable given the many outstanding questions about relationships between soil microbial diversity and soil function. Current research interests involve application of both soil- and plant-based indicators to issues of remnant quality and revegetation success in Victoria’s northern woodlands.