The cover of the October 2026 journal issue of Ecological Applications features research by SBS associate professor Tanya Cheeke, investigating how microbial inoculations can help with native prairie restoration.
Cheeke and her research colleagues applied two restoration techniques to a post-agricultural field prior to seeding—solarization or mowing of the initial non-native vegetation, with or without inoculation with native soil microbes. Both solarization and inoculation improved the floristic quality of the plant community over several growing seasons, increasing the abundance of disturbance-sensitive species like prairie blazing star.
Read the research article in Ecological Applications.