Dr. Christine Jones, Evening Keynote: The Liquid Carbon Pathway and Common Mycorrhizal Networks

A global soil health revolution is taking place, one based on plant diversity. In parallel with research into the human gut microbiome, understanding and supporting the functioning of the soil microbiome is being increasingly recognized as the future for agriculture. In this keynote address, Dr. Christine Jones will explain that due to the soil priming effects of multispecies crops and pastures, farmers in many parts of the world are finding they are able to significantly reduce or even eliminate the need for inorganic fertilizer. Plant roots exude hundreds of different biological compounds, many of which act as signals to soil microbes. Root exudates vary continuously over time, depending on the plant’s immediate requirements. The greater the diversity of plants, the greater the diversity of microbes and the more robust the soil ecosystem. Plants in diverse communities assist each other by linking together via vast underground superhighways termed ‘Common Mycorrhizal Networks’ through