Jodi Friesen and Sharmin Gamiet fight through Devil's club to find the beautiful Cortinarius violaceous
Soil indicators require better characterization of biotic communities across sites representing full gradients in ecosystem productivity. Information on species distribution and community composition is also essential in providing unambiguous indicators across spatial scales. The study will identify soil species indicative of soil fertility and test the similarity and uniqueness of soil ecosystems across site series. The research will allow for a more complete biodiversity inventory, and will allow further ecological studies of soil biota and site productivity.