This website combines a problem-based learning (PBL) case study with multimedia to illustrate the effects of several types of timber harvesting on soil microbial communities and their functions.

This multimedia educational resource was developed to enhance material covered in the APBI 402 / SOIL 502 – Sustainable Soil Management course, offered at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.

The learning objectives of the educational resource are to allow students to:

• Identify major soil microbial groups,
• Describe key functional roles of soil microbes, and
• Determine if variable retention harvesting leads to healthy forest soils through the maintenance of soil organisms and their functions.