Restoration from the ground up: Incorporating soil knowledge into native plant restoration efforts

One teaspoon of soil hosts up to one billion bacteria, meters of fungal hyphae, thousands of protozoa and tens of nematodes and arthropods. These organisms are constantly making war and peace to manage the nutrients, water, soil structure, disease organisms, and plant roots that make all other life on earth possible. As we strive to clean our water and air, restore wildlife habitat, sequester carbon and remediate degraded lands, we must understand the role that soil ecology plays in the success of these restoration efforts. Sarah will discuss ways that soils knowledge can be used to improve the success of restoration of native plant communities in Washington.

Sarah T. Hamman, Ph.D.:
Sarah is the Director of Science for Eco-studies Institute, a conservation non-profit based in Washington State. Her work is aimed at researching and restoring rare species habitat in Pacific Northwest prairies and oak woodlands using rigorous science and collaborative conservation principles. She holds a B.A. in Biology from Wittenberg University and a Ph.D. in Ecology from Colorado State University. Sarah is also an adjunct professor at The Evergreen State College, where she teaches restoration ecology, fire ecology and soil ecology in the Master of Environmental Studies program. She is vice president of the board for the Olympia Coalition for Ecosystems Preservation, a non-profit land trust focused on habitat conservation in Olympia, WA, and the Chair of the Research and Plant Inventory Committee for the Washington Native Plant Society. When she’s not working, Sarah enjoys baking, knitting, and adventuring in the mountains, learning all the new plants and mushrooms along the way.