Native Gardens, Happy Soil, and a Green Future with Dr. Tyler Moore

Native Gardens, Happy Soil, and a Green FutureEpisode IntroductionIn today's episode we interview Dr. Tyler Moore, associate professor of biology at Bellevue University and President of Green Bellevue about how native gardens influence microbial soil communities, carbon sequestration, the photosynthesis you might have forgotten about since grade school, and your mother-in-law's turf grass. Come hang out with us as we talk some science. Host Stephanie BarelmanStephanie Barelman is the founder of the Bellevue Native Plant Society, a midwest motivational speaker, and host of the Plant Native Nebraska Podcast. Guest Dr. Tyler MooreTyler is a professor of biology at Bellevue University and current president of Green Bellevue. He received his bachelors degree in biology and his PhD in microbiology and molecular biology from UNL. He also completed a post -doctorate fellowship at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease.At BU, Tyler, students, and other faculty are using a recently-installed 10,000 square-foot native plant meadow to study how native plants contribute to campus biodiversity and to study adaptations of invertebrates in natural settings.He has co-authored many academic papers and his recent research we are talking about today is studying how native gardens impact the soil microbial community.Thank you, Tyler, for helping us provide some great content in today's talk!Listen, rate, and subscribe!Get some merch! https://plant-native-nebraska.myspreadshop.com/Find us on FacebookVisit our homepage https://plant-native-nebraska.captivate.fmGive us a review on Podchaser! www.podchaser.com/PlantNativeNebraskaSupport My Work via Patreon The Plant Native Nebraska podcast can be found on the podcast app of your choice.Episode ContentBackground for this chat:-The Academic Paper : Baldi, D.S., Humphrey, C.E., Kyndt, J.A. et al. Native plant gardens support more microbial diversity and higher relative abundance of potentially beneficial taxa compared to adjacent turf grass lawns. Urban Ecosyst (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-022-01325-5-Read an article about it here!Tyler's photography hobby-Check it out here:  https://www.natureamongus.com/ Green Bellevuechampioning various green initiatives in Bellevue such as zero waste and increasing native habitatSequencingIt all sounds very science-y and beyond me but so very cool... Analyzing genetics of bacteria, you know, just your typical run-of-the-mill stuff.Is this an overwhelming topic?Yes, even for scientists.Why should we care about soil ecology?In short, planet Earth is cool. The basic functions of things that live in the ground make life on earth possible. PhotosynthesisRemember grade school? All energy on earth begins with plants. Photosynthesis up and down through the trophic levels baby!Ok, so what did they even find out?Those native gardens that provide obvious support to the stuff we see: birds, moths, butterflies, bees, salamanders, dragonflies... also providing support to invisible communities under ground. Lovely, sweet bacteria. And there's way more diversity than even under the hippiest of hippy turf grasses. And more of these guys under ground = better nutrients, better carbon sequestering.Wait, carbon sequestering... what's that?!?!You know that greenhouse carbon dioxide floating in the air, plants can funnel that stuff underground. In fact, plants need carbon to survive. I kind of forgot all about carbon. Not gonna lie.Monocultures are badThey are unnatural and basically have only come around as a result of humans manipulating the planet. MyceliumYes, I brought up fungi. Don't judge me. Again, what does soil research even mean for the native plants dialogue?Don't forget about the underground goings on when thinking what to do above ground. The evidence keeps pointing to planting native at being the most reasonable approach to preserving life on earth.Thank you Tyler, it was interesting, to say the least!Additional content related to this episode:What makes a plant native?http://bonap.net/fieldmaps Biota of North America North American Plant Atlas database-select Nebraska https://bellevuenativeplants.org Bellevue Native Plant Societynative (wild type) vs. nativar/native cultivar (cultivated by humans for desirable characteristics)On the WebBONAP aforementionedBNPS aforementionedhttp://www.facebook.com/groups/bellevuenativeplantsociety- BNPS on Facebook Books & AuthorsRick Darke- The Living Landscape Douglas Tallamy- Professor and Chair of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Entomology at the University of Delaware, author of The Living Landscape, Nature's Best Hope, naturalist, and curator of "Homegrown National Park". Link to Nature's Best Hope book here: Enrique Salmon- Iwigara Daniel Moerman -Native American Ethnobotany Heather Holm- https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.comNative Plants of the MidwestPlanting in a Post-Wild WorldJon Farrar's Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska Additional Resources NSA at https://www.plantnebraska.org great articles and downloads Xerxes Society- champions of pollinator health Native Plant Finder- https://www.nwf.org/nativeplantfinder/Other Local OrganizationsGreen BellevuePATHNebraska Native Plant SocietyListen, rate, and subscribe!Get some merch! https://plant-native-nebraska.myspreadshop.com/Find us on FacebookVisit our homepage https://plant-native-nebraska.captivate.fmGive us a review on Podchaser! www.podchaser.com/PlantNativeNebraskaSupport My Work via Patreon The Plant Native Nebraska podcast can be found on the podcast app of your choice.