[ECOLOG-L] soil ecology

[David Inouye]

A microbiologist in India from the Central Plantation Crops Research 
Institute in Kerala saw the editorial I wrote about ecology that was 
published in Science and had a question:

"You mention in your editorial 'The new field of synthetic ecology, 
in which ecologists and medical professionals design beneficial 
microbial communities, has its origins in century-old ecological 
field studies'.
Here too in India, in many instances it is mentioned that yesteryear 
farmers used to transfer soil from highly productive fields to low 
productive fields and reap a good harvest from the latter. However, I 
have failed to get any publications hinting this practice.
I will be much grateful to you if you can send me some publications 
which mention such practice by farmers."

I've heard of people spreading mycorrhizal fungi around to encourage 
plant growth.  If you know of studies of a similar practice for other 
soil microbes, I can pass those on to the Indian scientist.

Inouye, D. W. 2015. The next century of ecology. Science 349:565. 
<http://www.sciencemag.org/content/349/6248/565.full>http://www.sciencemag.org/content/349/6248/565.full