Forest Restoration

Soil

Areas needing restoration often show signs of human impact, such as disturbed and degraded soil. These places lack important nutrients as well as beneficial fungi and microbial life. The soil is often compacted, leading to poor drainage. To establish a healthy forest, we must first address these soil issues.

For instance, abandoned farmland is often lacking in essential elements. Continuous farming depletes certain nutrients, while fertilizers add others. Frequent tilling creates a hard-packed soil layer, hindering the growth of some plants and limiting water absorption.

In tackling such challenges, our forest restoration team uses various techniques.

  • Adding microbial diversity and fungi is crucial for boosting ecosystem health. These microorganisms serve as life's architects in a forest by breaking down organic matter to provide nutrients for other species, they also improve soil structure and water absorption.

    We gather soil samples from a healthy forest in the restoration area and cultivate these native microbes in a nutrient-rich water mix. After fostering their growth in a controlled setting, we reintroduce these thriving microorganisms to the soil at our restoration site. This enables them to play a vital role in revitalizing the degraded ecosystem.

  • Soil quality varies, and sometimes it's suitable for planting without any modifications. However, there are instances where adding soil becomes necessary to improve the growing environment. A blend of components can be introduced to the existing soil to rejuvenate its conditions and establish a healthy ecosystem.

    Our team achieves this by combining various elements of a healthy soil with the existing soil in the area. Incorporating components like organic matter, sand, gravel, or compost proves effective in regulating water drainage and reintroducing nutrients essential for the new ecosystem to thrive.

This soil sample, magnified at 100x, was collected from an old mixed forest. We see a fungal strand, an amoeboid test, a fungal spore, decaying plant matter, and bacteria. In addition to the diversity of organisms we see aggregates, particles of mineral and organic matter created by fungi and glued together by bacteria.

This soil sample taken from a introduced soil at a recent development is magnified at 400x. We see fragments of mineral and some diversity of bacteria which is what we would expect to find in an early succession / disturbed soil.