Investigating Urban Forest Soil Microbial Communities in Kansas City

Keywords: soil microorganisms, urban forests, Kansas City
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

Soil is an incredibly diverse and understudied ecosystem. It is believed some of the most established and diverse microbial ecosystems are within old growth forests. Urban forests are increasingly important for combating climate change. In addition to carbon sequestration and water retention, they provide critical relief from urban heat island. This study examines soil microbial communities for diversity and fungal/bacterial ratios within the oldest forests around Kansas City. This research begins to identify the microbial communities of local forests and how they differ from other urban soils. This provides a measure of health for established forests, and the role of forests in soil remediation. Forest soil samples were collected and analyzed with a microBIOMETER for rapid field assessment of fungal:bacterial ratios. It was determined both sites were much lower in microbial activity than expected for a forest this age. The fungal:bacterial ratios were more similar to those of grasslands, despite being a protected woodlands for 65+ years. The areas with the least disturbance and more native plants tended to have the highest ratios. However, these areas did not have very large microbial populations and are still much lower ratios than one would expect in a forest. Those areas near invasive Bush Honeysuckle had a greater abundance of microbes, but that abundance was almost entirely bacterial. This implies the soil health is inferior where invasive Bush Honeysuckle thrives, and importantly the abundance of microbial population does not always correlate to soil health.