Our Research
Our mycology research aims to enhance soil health and ecosystem productivity by effectively managing soil fungal communities. We emphasize the study of beneficial fungi, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), exploring their potential as inoculants or fostering their natural proliferation through sustainable practices. Our studies also address the role of these beneficial fungi in mitigating abiotic stress on plants in a dynamically changing climate.
The laboratory has also conducted research on gourmet mushrooms which includes evaluating various food and agricultural wastes as potential substrates or supplements to optimize mushroom cultivation.
News & Stories
Fall 2024
How fungi is being used to grow superplants in bid to restore damaged grasslands:
Funding secured for Lethbridge Polytechnic research into land reclamation
Instructor receives $250,000 Alberta Innovates grant to accelerate land reclamation efforts
Spring 2023
From Waste to Taste, Wider Horizons Spring 2023
February 2023
February 2023
Researchers want to find best mushroom food, Western Producer, Feb. 23, 2023
February 2023
January 2023
Growing our people, 2021-22 CARIE Annual Report, Pages 18-19, Jan. 6, 2023
January 2023
Blue Oyster Mushrooms, Calgary Eyeopener, Jan. 13, 2023
October 2020
Fondness for Fungi, Lethbridge Herald, Oct. 11, 2020
March 2016
Soil Fungi in Pulse-Wheat Crop Sequences, Farming Smarter Annual Growers Meeting, March 17, 2016
Meet Our People
Adriana Morrell, PhD
Principal Investigator, Mycology Research Lab
Dr. Adriana Morrell is a full-time continuing faculty and researcher at Lethbridge Polytechnic with expertise in soil science, plant physiology, mycology, microbial ecology and agronomy. She obtained her doctor of philosophy in soil sciences at the University of Saskatchewan and both a master of science in plant physiology and bachelor of science in biology from the University of Havana.
Morrell has been a faculty member of Lethbridge Polytechnic since 2015 and is the founder and scientific lead of the Mycology Research Laboratory on campus. Her mycology research expands to multiple areas, from improving sustainability by re-using different types of food waste and agro-waste in mushroom production to improving soil health and ecosystem productivity through management of soil fungal communities in both natural and agricultural systems. Morrell collaborates closely with industry partners to ensure the practical application of research findings and facilitates the dissemination of information to stakeholders through reports, publications, presentations and online platforms.
Adriana Morrell worked for four years instructing at the University of Havana and has spent countless hours performing research in agriculture, microbial ecology and plant physiology labs.
Phone: (403) 332 3202 Ext 5328
Email: adriana.morrell@lethpolytech.ca
Dale Pulvermacher (2023-present)
Assessment and Restoration and current Bachelor of Ecosystem Management student at Lethbridge Polytechnic. Technician in the Mycology Research Lab.
Leanne Dumontier (2022 - present)
Biosafety Officer/Lab technician
Tyler Waldron (2024 - present)
Lab/Field technician CTED and drone pilot.
Jo Johnson (2024 - present)
Research assistant. Second year student, Renewable Resource Management, Environmental Sciences.
John Gil Casallas (2024 - present)
Research Assistant. Fourth year student Bachelor of Ecosystem Management, Environmental Sciences, Lethbridge Polytechnic.
Rosa Martinez Lozano (2025 – present)
Senior Project Student. Fourth year student Bachelor of Ecosystem Management, Environmental Sciences, Lethbridge Polytechnic.
Ross Oliver (2023-2024)
Fourth-year Bachelor of Ecosystem Management student at Lethbridge College. Senior project student in the Mycology Research lab.
Ednna Stobschinski (2022-2023)
Second-year Renewable Resource Management student at Lethbridge College. Research assistant in the Mycology Research lab.
Current Projects
Harnessing soil microbial resources to advance habitat recovery and improve carbon sequestration in Alberta’s Prairie landscape
Grasslands, invaluable for ecological, agricultural and socio-cultural reasons, are threatened by invasive species and climate change. Efforts are made to restore areas, but these usually focus on re-introducing native Prairie plants, controlling invasives, and monitoring sites. However, this approach can be costly when plant establishment is low, thus requiring new techniques to ensure better plant establishment and long-term restoration success. To achieve this, our project harnesses native plants’ soil microbial interactions to shape aboveground ecosystem dynamics. This augments traditional methods with ecologically informed strategies for sustainable land management. The proposed research aims to provide actionable insights to enhance restoration efforts.
This study is a collaborative effort in partnership with Athabasca University, University of Calgary and Nature Conservancy of Canada, and supported by Alberta Innovates.
Commercial mycorrhizal fungi to increase plant biomass and survival of native grasses in the Alberta Prairies
Canada has lost 25-million acres of grasslands in the past 30 years, highlighting the urgent need for restoration efforts to mitigate these losses. This research project aims to advance grassland restoration by testing various commercial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculants to enhance native plant establishment and survival under both field and greenhouse conditions. This approach seeks to identify effective strategies for faster and more sustainable grassland restoration, offering promising avenues for climate-smart land management practices in Alberta and beyond.
This research is a collaborative effort in partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and supported by Lethbridge Polytechnic’s Centre for Applied Research Internal Fund.
Past Projects
Quantification of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with native plants in natural and disturbed grasslands (2023-2024)
Canada's grasslands are crucial ecosystems providing essential ecological, agricultural and cultural services. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can enhance plant growth by improving nutrient uptake and soil stability and helping plants adapt to environmental changes. While restoration strategies such as re-vegetation or invasive control have been extensively explored in Alberta’s grasslands, a comprehensive in situ assessment of AMF status within the framework of grassland management practices is needed. Our research provided comparative data on the presence of AMF associated with representative plant species in natural and disturbed grasslands.
This study was a collaborative effort in partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). Some of the key findings of this research project were shared with researchers, students and industry during the Grassland Restoration Forum webinar on Jan. 30, 2024. This research project was supported by Lethbridge College’s Centre for Applied Research Internal Fund.
Evaluating substrate preference and yield of blue oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) grown on crop waste and food industry waste (2022-2023)
Reusing, reducing and recycling are foundational concepts in sustainability. Yet, there is much to do to reduce waste from the food industry and find alternatives to reuse byproducts of agricultural processes. The cultivation of oyster mushrooms can be an economical alternative to reuse organic waste while producing protein-rich food with a significant reduction in environmental impact. In this project, we tested a diversity of substrates that are either food wastes or agricultural waste for suitability and efficiency in oyster mushroom production, focusing on maintaining quality and maximizing yield. Dr. Adriana Morrell shared the results of this project with mushrooms producers and industry leaders at the Mushrooms Canada annual general meeting on April 29, 2024, in Toronto, Ont. This research project was supported by Lethbridge College’s Centre for Applied Research Internal Fund.
Dissemination
Reports and Publications
Morrell, A. 2024. Quantification of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with native plants in natural and disturbed grasslands. A project update. Grassland Restoration Forum Webinar. January 2024.
Morrell (neé Navarro Borrell), A, Shi Y, Gan Y, Bainard LD, Germida J, Hamel C. 2017. Fungal diversity associated with pulses and its influence on the subsequent wheat crop in the Canadian prairies. Plant & Soil. pp 1- 19. doi:10.1007/s11104-016-3075-y
Bainard LD, Morrell (neé Navarro Borrell), A, Hamel C, Braun K, Hanson K, Gan Y. 2017. Increasing the frequency of pulses in crop rotations reduces soil fungal diversity and increases the proportion of fungal pathotrophs in a semiarid agroecosystem. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 240: 206–214.
Yang C, Ellouze W, Morrell (neé Navarro Borrell), A, Esmaeili-Taheri A, Klabi R, Dai M, Kabir6 Z, Hamel C. 2014. Book chapter: Management of the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in sustainable crop production published by Springer, Z.M. Solaiman et al. (eds.), Mycorrhizal Fungi: Use in Sustainable Agriculture and Land Restoration, Soil Biology 41: 89-118, DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-45370-4_7.
Ellouze W, Esmaeili-Taheri A, Bainard LD, Yang C, Bazghaleh N, Morrell (neé Navarro Borrell), A, Hanson K, Hamel C. 2014. Soil fungal resources in annual cropping systems and their potential for management. BioMed Research International. Volume 2014, Article ID 531824, pages 1-15. Note: First seven authors made an equal contribution to the elaboration of the manuscript.