Dr Heidi Nistelberger, Dr Angus Lawrie, Ms Liesel Morgan, Ms Stephanie Floeckner, Dr Josephine Hyde
1Biologic, East Perth, Australia, 2Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Science, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia
Biography:
Heidi is a senior geneticist at Biologic. She has over 20 years’ experience in molecular biology, ranging from population genetics to ancient DNA, translocation genomics and eDNA. Her recent work focuses on understanding how the soil microbiome shifts in response to land use changes.
Abstract:
As our recognition of the soil microbiome and its role in ecosystem health grows, there is increasing interest from the farming community to better understand how their land use practices are influencing this essential and dynamic component of soil health. Here, we characterise the soil microbiome at two agricultural properties in Western Australia that are attempting to improve their soil health via the implementation of novel farming practices. Using 16S and ITS metabarcoding data, alongside soil physicochemical data, we explore the patterns of diversity and differentiation present in soil bacterial and fungal communities at treatment and control sites. We then relate these results to both historical and contemporary land management practices and discuss the risks and complications of these interpretations given the paucity of data in this context.