Dr Kari Dunfield is from School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Canada

Date: Thursday 20 Nov 2025, 10 am, SARDI Plant Research Centre Auditorium

Title: Investigating the microbiome for ecosystem sustainability: A systems approach.

Abstract:

Soils are vital for society, providing critical services such as nutrient cycling, primary production, water regulation and climate and erosion control. Protecting soil resources is a defining issue of our time, but solutions are complex and require an integrated cross-disciplinary approach.

Increasingly soil health and biodiversity are recognized as key components in a framework for protecting, restoring and sustainable use of soils. My research program bridges microbiology, plant science, and soil science to investigate microbial communities and biogeochemical cycles that drive the global processes that underpin terrestrial ecosystem functioning. This research program uses next-generation sequencing technologies- metagenomics and metatranscriptomics- applied to environmental samples, to generate quantitative profiles of microbial taxonomic and functional diversity, including interkingdom interactions. A key component of my research program, and key to its success is the in situ and applied nature of the work. In this seminar, I will present a few examples of long-term studies where we have taken a transdisciplinary approach to find solutions to complex global environmental challenges, including, protecting soil biodiversity and soil health, characterizing microbial drivers of greenhouse gas emissions, and organic phosphorus cycling.

Biography

Kari Dunfield is a Professor of Soil and Environmental Microbiology at the University of Guelph, and has been studying soil biology in Ontario agricultural systems for over 20 years.  She has degrees in Microbiology (BSc) from U Calgary and Plant Science (MSc) and Soil Science (PhD) from U of Saskatchewan.  She has been awarded an Ontario Early Researcher Award, and Canada Research Chair for her work investigating microbial communities and microbial processes driving the global processes that help support life on Earth.  Kari is the Editor-in-Chief for the Canadian Journal of Microbiology, Past-President of the Canadian Society of Microbiologists and Co-Executive Director of Soils@Guelph, a knowledge mobilization and outreach initiative where she shares her passion about the importance of soils with the public.

 Webinar:

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https://adelaide.zoom.us/j/88990835328?pwd=uWXNmQb3NcNUcd15t43KVLtq9PTV2i.1

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