The Effect of Ecological Restoration on the Structure and Function of Soil Microbial Communities in Cranberry Bogs

Ecological restoration seeks to improve degraded ecosystem functions such as carbon storage, removal of nutrient pollution, and regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. These functions are primarily governed by microbes living in the soil, yet these microbial communities are not explicitly considered or monitored as a part of most restoration efforts. This group of research projects seeks to understand the impact of ecological restoration of cranberry bogs on the structure and function soil microbial communities in restored cranberry bogs. Using genetic and genomic techniques, we can survey the thousands of microbial species residing in the soil; we can monitor how they change over time; and we can associate those changes with functions of interest to understand which restoration methodologies produce the best outcomes.