Strategy
Our current findings clearly show that, in contrast to isolated microbial strains, specific and interacting microbial communities in soils can provide a very efficient detoxification function when contaminated soils are inoculated with these complex microbial communities. Moreover, this approach shows a very high sustainability with time when a soil like carrier material for the microbes is used.
1. The first step is to identify more specific microbial communities for specific degradation functions. Key players of such communities will be identified in order to compare their functionality with the capability of the microbial communities including such key players. The main question is: Can we generalize our current findings that the effectiveness and sustainability of such communities is valuable for different soils and superior to that of the isolated strain?
2. Secondly we aspire to optimize the ecological conditions on a landscape scale in such a way that optimal detoxification can be achieved in selected areas. This approach includes sustainable water and nutrient management as well as the inoculation of specific microbial communities where ever it is necessary.
3. Up to now such specific microbial communities were discovered by systematic research according to the (contamination) history of soils or more or less by chance. It is essential to replace this time consuming procedure by a systematic breeding of specific microbial communities for commercial use. The optimal conditions for an accelerated adaptation of microbes for degrading specific chemicals must be developed.