Kowalski Organized symposium For Virtual Society of Wetland Scientists Meeting

Kurt Kowalski (GLSC, Ann Arbor, Michigan) organized a symposium titled “Microbes: Small Players with Big Impacts on Invasive Species Management and Wetland Restoration” at the 2021 Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) Annual Meeting that took place virtually on June 1, 3, 7, and 10, 2021. The 10-talk symposium was sponsored by the SWS Restoration Section and explored how microbes help non-native Phragmites and other invasive plants outcompete native plants, can be part of future management approaches for invasive plant species and the subsequent restoration to native communities, and play a large role in other wetland ecosystem functions. USGS staff Wes Bickford and Kurt Kowalski (GLSC, Ann Arbor, Michigan) gave prerecorded oral presentations titled “The interactive effects of Phragmites growth form, microbial communities, and plant invasiveness: differences between native and non-native lineages” and “Are microbes the key to a new form of Phragmites control?”, respectively. The international audience engaged with the speakers in an open discussion after the presentations and explored innovative ways to approach invasive species management and wetland restoration.