UBC receives $1.2 million to develop microbial indicators of forest health

A first-of-its-kind research project being led by UBC microbiologist Bill Mohn is investigating the potential of using the forest floor's microbial ecosystem as a bellwether forest management tool.

"Climate change is bringing big new challenges for managing our forests so that future generations can enjoy them," says Mohn, professor with the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and UBC's Life Sciences Institute, who leads the $1.2 million dollar project.

"To optimally harvest forests for biofuels, you need to remove more parts of the trees than was previously done. We want to be sure that we understand the impact that intensive harvesting might have on the long-term health and sustainability of the forest."

The answer to this question might lie in the forest floor, which harbors an incredibly diverse community of invisibly small organisms. If BC is celebrated for its forests, it's the microbial ecosystems that are its unsung champions. "It's quite mind-blowing to know that in one handful of soil you hold a billion micro organisms and a million microbial species," says Mohn.

"This extraordinarily complex microbial community is responsible for the chemical processes that make soil fertile and is the key to re-growth of our harvested forests. This community may also be the sentinel that can give us the first warning if the system is failing."

However, without genomics research, there had previously been no way to examine and monitor these organisms.

The project, Genomic Approaches to Microbial Community Monitoring as a Forest Management Tool, is funded in partnership with Genome BC, Tula Foundation, the BC Ministry of Forests and Range, and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.

It examines two regions, the sub boreal spruce forest (Prince George, Williams Lake), and interior Douglas fir forest (Kootenays). Mohn's research is part of an international effort to look at the long-term soil productivity in forests, but this project is the first to employ genomic approaches to look at the microbial ecosystem in the soil.

Cutting-edge genomic applications are allowing Dr Mohn and his team to reveal the soil microbial community, mainly bacteria and fungi, through sequencing and analyzing its DNA. This work is dramatically advancing an understanding of how the soil system works and how it responds to the changing climate and forest management practices. It is also leading to powerful new tools for monitoring the soil system.

"The development of DNA sequencing technology is amazing, we can now sequence the DNA of millions of organisms simultaneously, and this capacity is expanding and getting cheaper constantly," says Mohn. "This approach is becoming a practical and accurate way of gauging whether our forests are at risk, and then guiding the necessary action."

This research will have a particularly meaningful result in BC, where logging sustainably is a top priority. Organizations responsible for forest management would have sensitive new methods that would rapidly detect the impact on forests so they could respond quickly and appropriately.

"This is a true strength of the genomics research community in BC: to develop projects that have an impact both locally and globally," notes Dr Alan Winter, President and CEO of Genome BC.

"The outcomes from this project will affect both the forestry and agriculture industries, providing a sophisticated method for ensuring these industries are managed well and sustainably for future generations."