Deadwood Microbiome Management Impact Study
Summary
My company, Deadwood Dynamics, is developing a microbiome analysis platform to help forest managers and conservation scientists optimize ecosystem health with data-driven insights into how management practices affect deadwood microbial communities.
Problem statement
Forest managers struggle with understanding how their management practices affect deadwood microbiome health which causes potential ecosystem disruption and reduced forest resilience.
Solution
Develop a comprehensive monitoring and assessment system that tracks how different forest management practices (such as selective harvesting, prescribed burns, and deadwood retention strategies) impact the microbial communities living in deadwood. This system would provide forest managers with evidence-based guidelines for optimizing management decisions to maintain healthy deadwood microbiomes that support ecosystem functions like nutrient cycling and forest regeneration.
Growth metric
The key metric to focus on is the number of forest management organizations adopting microbiome-informed deadwood management protocols. To scale this metric to affect 1 million people, the company should partner with national forestry agencies and environmental organizations to standardize their protocols across major forest systems, and develop a certification program that incentivizes land managers to implement microbiome-based deadwood management practices through policy integration and carbon credit opportunities.