America’s once-abundant tallgrass prairies — which have all but disappeared — were home to dozens of species of grasses that could grow to the height of a man, hundreds of species of flowers, and herds of roaming bison. For the first time, a research team led by the University of Colorado Boulder has gotten a peek at another vitally important, but rarely considered, community that also once called the tallgrass prairie home: the diverse assortment of microbes that thrived in the dark, rich soils beneath the grass.   University of Kentucky Associate Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences Rebecca McCulley is a co-author of the study. Plant and Soil Sciences is housed within the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

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