Evaluating the impact of differences in remnant and reconstruction mycorrhizas on performance of conservative prairie plant species

Publication Date

2024-03-22

Start Date

2022-04-13

End Date

2023-04-11

Larson, D.L., Larson, J.L., Huerd, S., Aldrich-Wolfe, L., Prado-Ragan, E., Jordan, N., Kruenegel, H., Warner, S., Drobney, P., and Vacek, S., 2024, Evaluating the impact of differences in remnant and reconstruction mycorrhizas on performance of conservative prairie plant species: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P138FQQI.

Increasing the resiliency and efficiency of reconstructed prairies is critical for conserving prairie ecosystems, supporting pollinators, as well as boosting the ecosystem services required for land-based agriculture. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are root symbiotrophs that may be key in increasing resiliency and species richness in reconstructed prairie habitat. We hypothesized that AMF fungi are important for the establishment of a successful prairie reconstruction site. In the second tier of this research, our project aimed to compare the performance of plants inoculated with AMF from remnant prairies to plants inoculated with AMF from planned reconstruction sites. Secondly, we hypothesized that prairie plants inoculated with AMF from remnant prairie soil will perform better when competing against invasive cool-season grasses. To test this, we grew native prairie plants alongside two cool-season invasive grasses and compared the performance of native prairie plants when inoculated with AMF from remnant vs planned reconstruction prairie sites.

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