Kelly Shields, Microbes: A Prairie Underground
Channel: Prairie Partner
Date: 2015-11-20

Prairie restoration efforts currently focus on successional plantings aboveground while ignoring the microbial ecosystem underneath.
Several agricultural studies have shown the importance of microbial communities in the success of commercial crops. However, the
prairie microbial communities are a vastly unknown ecosystem that may be intertwined with our unique soil composition and plant
biodiversity. Our research will examine the microbes, soil conditions and plant diversity of tallgrass prairies in order to aid in the understanding of prairie establishment.

Presented at the 2015 Southern Plains & Prairies Conference, held at the Houston Zoo in Houston, Texas.