Microbial communities and soil health in agroecosystems
Soil microbial communities are essential to providing the key functions in a healthy soil: cycling nutrients and making them available to plants, modifying soil structure to make water more persistent and accessible, and suppressing soilborne plant pathogens. We are investigating how the structure and diversity of soil microbial communities in potato fields in Wisconsin relates to their ability to provide these functions to crops. Our work to date suggests that ability of microbial communities to suppress disease and promote high yields may trade-off, but, as in many ecological systems, maintaining high diversity may be key to combining multiple functions.
Additionally, potato production often heavily reliant on chemical inputs and fertilizers. Our research aims to harness the potential of soil microbiomes. To address these questions, we combine experimental and observational studies with theoretical modeling, linking microbial community patterns to the landscape-scale functioning of soils and agricultural ecosystems. Our work focuses on commercial potato fields in the Upper Midwest, where we collaborate closely with growers to explore microbiome-based approaches for sustainable agriculture.
We work closely with numerous Wisconsin potato growers, as well as the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Grower’s Association and the vegetable crops extension team at UW to ensure that our research aligns with grower needs and interests, and benefits from grower participation throughout the process.
Recent Publications
Aghdam, R., Shan, S., Lankau, R., & Solis-Lemus, C. (2025). Leveraging Bayesian Networks for Consensus Network Construction and Multi-Method Feature Selection to Decode Disease Prediction. bioRxiv, 2025-04 https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.07.647660
Aghdam, R., Tang, X., Shan, S., Lankau, R. & Solís-Lemus, C. (2024). Human limits in machine learning: prediction of potato yield and disease using soil microbiome data. BMC bioinformatics, 25(1), 366. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12859-024-05977-2
Rawal, A., Lankau, R.A. & Ruark, M.D. (2024). How does soil organic matter affect potato productivity on sandy soil? Soil Science Society of America Journal 88, 1748-1766. https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20718
Potter, T., Zalewski, Z., Miao, M. Allsup, C., Thompson, K., Hayden, D., George, I., Lankau, R., & Lankau, E. (2024). Applying causal reasoning to investigate multicausality in microbial systems. Ecosphere, 15, e4782. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4782
Klasek et al. (2024). Potato soil core microbiomes are regionally variable across the continental United States. Phytobiomes Journal 8, 168-178. https://doi.org/10.101094/PBIOMES-07-23-0060-R
Shan, S., George, I., Millican, M.D., Kinkel, L.L. & Lankau, R.A. (2024). Disease suppression is driven by microbial community properties at fine taxonomic scales. Ecosphere, 15(12), e70104. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70104
Shan, S., Lankau, R.A. & Ruark, M.D. (2024). Metam sodium fumigation in potato production systems has varying effects on soil health indicators. Field Crops Research, 310, 109353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109353
Miao, M & Lankau, R. (2023). Plant host domestication and soil nutrient availability determine positive plant microbial response across the Solanum genus. Journal of Experimental Botany 74, 1579-1593. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erac453
Potter, S., Vereecke, L., Lankau, R., Sanford, G., Silva, E., & Ruark, M. (2022). Long-term management drives divergence in soil microbial biomass, richness, and composition among upper Midwest, USA cropping systems. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 325, 107718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2021.107718
Lankau, R.A., George, I., & Miao, M. (2022). Crop performance is predicted by soil microbial diversity across phylogenetic scales. Ecosphere 13, e4029. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4029
Zalewski, Z., Page, R., Lankau, R., & McManus, P., (2021). Role of yeasts in the cranberry fruit rot disease complex. Plant Disease, 105, 2141-2148. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-19-2303-RE
Lankau, E.W., Xue, D., Christensen, R., Gevens, A.J., & Lankau, R.A. (2020). Management and soil conditions influence common scab severity on potato tubers via indirect effects on soil microbial communities. Phytopathology 110, 1049-1055. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-06-19-0223-R