Abstract
We examined suitability of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) associated with cool-season nonnative forages on reclaimed surface-mined land in southeast Ohio for establishment of native warm-season grasses. The goal of establishing these grasses is to diversify a post-reclamation landscape that is incapable of supporting native forest species. A 16-week glasshouse study compared AMF from a 30-year reclaimed mine soil (WL) with AMF from native Ohio tallgrass prairie soil (CL). Four native grasses were examined from seedling through 16 weeks of growth. Comparisons were made between CL and WL AMF on colonized (+AMF) and non-colonized plants (–AMF) at three levels of soil phosphorus (P). Leaves were counted at 4 week intervals. Shoot and root biomass and percent AMF root colonization were measured at termination. We found no difference between WL and CL AMF. Added soil P did not reduce AMF colonization, but did reduce AMF efficacy. Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman), Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash), and tall dropseed (Sporobolus asper (Michx.) Kunth) benefited from AMF only at low soil P while slender wheatgrass (Elymus trachycaulus (Link) Gould ex Shinners) exhibited no benefit. Establishment of tallgrass prairie dominants big blue-stem and Indiangrass would be supported by the mine soil AMF. It appears that the non-native forage species have supported AMF equally functional as AMF from a regionally native tallgrass prairie. Tall dropseed and slender wheatgrass were found to be less dependent on AMF than big bluestem or Indiangrass and thus would be useful in areas with little or no AMF inoculum.
Highlights
Surface coal mining negatively impacts landscapes by altering soil structure and chemistry, and negatively affects beneficial soil organisms such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)
Results of this research indicate that AMF associated with reclaimed mine soil are not likely a barrier for establishing tallgrass prairie species
This would suggest that host specificity is not a deterrent for native grass establishment even though the mine soil AMF have been associated with non-native cool-season forage species for 30 years
Summary
Surface coal mining negatively impacts landscapes by altering soil structure and chemistry, and negatively affects beneficial soil organisms such as AMF. Topsoil removal and stockpiling prior to mining destroys active AMF symbiosis and diminishes soil inoculum potential and AMF species composition [1,2]. This impact may inhibit establishment of AMF-dependent species during reclamation and restoration. The symbiotic function of these organisms is critical for supplying plants with minerals, primarily phosphorus, in exchange for organic energy compounds [6,7,8,9,10] This relationship is critical to plant survival especially when soil phosphorus is low [11]. AMF may affect plant community composition and successional trajectories by differentially benefiting some plants over others [12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20]
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