Opportunities and challenges for microbiomics in ecosystem restoration
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Date
2023-12-01Author
Robinson, J.M.
Hodgson, R.
Krauss, S.L.
Liddicoat, C.
Malik, A.A.
Martin, B.C.
Mohr, J.J.
Moreno-Mateos, D.
Muñoz-Rojas, M.
Peddle, S.D.
Breed, M.F.
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Trends in Ecology and Evolution: 38 (12): 1189-1202 (2023)
Abstract
Microbiomics is the science of characterizing microbial community structure, function, and dynamics. It has great potential to advance our understanding of plant–soil–microbe processes and interaction networks which can be applied to improve ecosystem restoration. However, microbiomics may be perceived as complex and the technology is not accessible to all. The opportunities of microbiomics in restoration ecology are considerable, but so are the practical challenges. Applying microbiomics in restoration must move beyond compositional assessments to incorporate tools to study the complexity of ecosystem recovery. Advances in metaomic tools provide unprecedented possibilities to aid restoration interventions. Moreover, complementary non-omic applications, such as microbial inoculants and biopriming, have the potential to improve restoration objectives by enhancing the establishment and health of vegetation communities. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd